Living Donor Love

You were a township trustee for 16 years. Why did you want to take on that role?

The slate that I was on, the people that I ran with, did not think that all of the values of the community were represented by the trustees who were in office at the time.

What was the most enjoyable and meaningful part of being a trustee?

I liked solving problems and bringing my legal perspective to the board.

Why did you get involved in Faith in Action?

It was one of the programs that the township supported and I believed in its mission to help seniors live independently. The executive director of our local group does a great job and I’m proud to be one of the volunteers.

What other community involvement have you had?

I have been a member of the Optimist Club of Deerfield since 2013. We provide children of all ages with activities. We work with a special education district and we sponsor an essay contest each year. We’ve been doing that for more than 30 years and for the past three years I’ve been the chair of the committee. The winners receive a plaque and a gift certificate. The contest culminates in a dinner for all of the participants and their families. From 2018-2023, I was president of the Deerfield Optimists. My proudest achievement was keeping the club going through the pandemic.

How many committees have you been a part of at Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation?

I’ve been a member of three committees; the website committee, the membership committee (now known as the connections committee), and the finance committee. I updated and maintained the second version of the website. I was also part of a committee that reviewed what we wanted for the third version of the website. I had learned simple HTML to design a website for my law practice and used those skills to maintain the congregation’s website.

What did you do for the membership committee?

The primary thing I did was getting Kol Hadash to participate every year in the Deerfield Farmer’s Market, where we did an apple and honey tasting. We did that in the early fall for the Jewish New Year. I’ve helped with the booth most years. I enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the community and over the years we’ve gotten a number of new members from doing the farmer’s market.

How many years have you been on the finance committee?

I’ve lost track of how many years I’ve been on this committee. In recent years I’ve been the recording secretary. I like knowing what’s going on with the congregation and the finance committee keeps track of everything because everything ties into the budget.

Do you have any final thoughts you want to share?

I enjoy all the ways that I’m able to contribute to my local community.