My Jewish Journey

by Stuart Haimes

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Stuart Perry Haimes and as on July 1^st, 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 2^nd 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 30^th and on July 1^st became President of the region.

I invite you to reach out to me at any time 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 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 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