Uncategorized
From the Office of Stuart Haimes, the New York Metropolitan Region FJMC President
July 1, 2025
Dear Friends:
Let me begin with wishing you all a hearty Shalom, Ahalan and Baruch Haba! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Stuart Perry Haimes and as on July 1, 2025 I became the very proud President of a very proud region, the New York Metropolitan Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs. A proud region indeed!
I am currently 64 years old and I live in Plainview New York which is in the eastern end of Nassau County on Long Island. I share my home with my wife Michele of 40 and a half years. We have 2 children who are both grown, married and out of the house. My son makes his home with his new wife in Lindenhurst, NY and my daughter and son-in-law are doing an amazing job raising my only (so far) grandchild in Fairfield CT.
I have recently ended an almost 41 year career in the beer and soda business and now keep myself busy as a full time ride share driver. I really like it!
My Jewish journey began at the age of 9 when we moved from Brooklyn to Rosedale, Queens and my parents enrolled me in Hebrew School at the now defunct Rosedale Jewish Center. My mother was very active in the Sisterhood, my Father acted in the temple’s musical productions and our cub scout and boy scout troops met there. My Father was the Scoutmaster and my Mother was my Den Mother. My Father later became the President of the shul. I was also a long time member of our USY chapter at Rosedale. So, you can see, temple life was a big part of our family life. After marrying in 1985 and moving out of the family home, my new wife and I made our home in a co-op apartment in Howard Beach, NY. We did not join a temple as newlyweds, but continued to attend Hi-Holiday services at the Rosedale Jewish Center. In 1992, when our son was about 4 years old, and my wife was expecting our 2nd child, we moved to Plainview, and it was time to join a temple. We joined the Plainview Jewish Center, and I quickly became involved in Men’s Club, and the PJC Board of Directors. I rose though the ranks and eventually became President of the Men’s Club. In fact, my term as Men’s Club President ended on June 30th and on July 1st I became President of the region. But, enough about me. Let’s talk about the New York Metropolitan Region.
Firstly, I want to welcome the rest of my executive board. I look forward to working closely over the next 2 years with our 1st Vice President, Jonathan Brody from Midway Jewish Center, 2nd Vice-President Warren Berkowitz from East Meadow-Beth-El Jewish Center and 3rd Vice-President Milton Lipitz from Temple Beth El in Cedarhurst. Our Recording Secretary, David Snyder from Forest Hills Jewish Center and our Treasurer, Dave Scherr from Temple Israel of Great Neck are veteran exec board members and I will look to them for guidance over the next 2 years. Our Sargent-At-Arms, Joe Bruck will always keep order at our meetings. I will also rely on the knowledge and expertise of our Past Presidents, Shea Lerner, Aaron Altman, Jay Steinmetz, Michael Harrison, Shelly Handel, Robert Cohen and Glenn Pollack.
Over the next 2 years with the help of the executive board members and the club Presidents, I plan to reignite the region which has not yet fully recovered from the effects of the Covid pandemic. My goals include forming a Presidents Council which will meet periodically to share ideas challenges and programs. I plan to utilize the members of the executive board to visit every club in the region at least once or maybe even twice over the next 2 years. Our regional meeting are going to resume with no less than 5 meetings over a 10 month period (September – June) and each meeting will be hosted by a different club in the region. We will have joint programs and group programs. Toward that end, we are kicking of the new administration with a region-wide trip to Citi Field on Tuesday, July 22nd to see the New York Mets play the California Angels. By now you should have all received more than one notice advertising this event. Yasher Koach to Les Agasim from Park Avenue Synagogue for launching this program. There are still plenty of tickets available, so if you’re looking for a fun night out, get online and order yours now. On Monday, July 28th, Plainview Jewish Center is hosting a panel discussion on antisemitism on college campuses immediately following the showing of the movie “October 8th”. Information on this program should be in your inbox by the time you read this. I hope to see you there!
I am very excited for what we can accomplish over the next 2 years. With your help and support I know we can achieve our goals and much more. I want to close by welcoming you to reach out to me at any time. Feel free to call or write with your ideas, suggestions, complaints and whatever else is on your mind.
I can be reached by phone or text at 516-319-9099 or by email at emailstuh@gmail.com. I look forward to meeting you if we’ve never met before and I look forward to seeing you again if we’ve met before. I will regale you with stories about how I became involved with the NY Metro Region and how I became the Chairman and the MC of our Man/Youth of the Year program. I could not have accomplished all I’ve done in my volunteer life without having a great team backing me up and I think we have just about the best team of 20 clubs, 20 club leaders and hundreds of Men’s Club members across the region. Here’s to looking ahead and to great things for our region and our clubs!
Yours in brotherhood,
Stuart P. Haimes, President
New York Metropolitan Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs