President’s Corner

Check in here to get the latest word on our major accomplishments, upcoming events, and your opportunities to participate and contribute from our Men’s Club President Bob Goldwin.

On To the Home Stretch!

Well, here we are in May. Another month has come and gone, and what a spectacular month it was. Spectacular, but a bit more relaxing than February and March. We are coming to the end of a fantastic year of programming. The Men’s Club has had a ball providing tasty food at a variety of functions, including Yom Beth Shalom, Steaks in the Sukkot, our many breakfasts, and the Purim Carnival. We enjoyed putting on what we believe was an amazing Men’s Club Shabbat, with a phenomenal meat Kiddush in Mid-March, and not much could be more important than packing up and sending out the Yellow Candles to be used in observance of Yom Hashoah in early May. Our next big event will be the annual Men’s Club Golf Outing, which will be held on Thursday, June 20, 2024. It promises to be a day of fun, laughter, and possibly good golf. All are welcome to join us!

This month in our continuing series of Past President Interviews I would like to introduce you all to Harvey Redfern. Harvey is a proud Chicago native. He grew up in Chicago attending Congregation KINS from 1954-1971. During his time at KINS, he was president of the Bar Mitzvah Club and he created a bowling league. If this wasn’t enough, he was the Youth Director in 1971. Harvey is a proud graduate of both Mather High School and DePaul University.

After a couple of different Synagogue stops, Harvey and his wife Pam joined Congregation Beth Shalom when they were married in 1995. Men’s Club member Michael Greenberg encouraged Harvey to join and become active in the Men’s Club in 2005. His first position on the Executive Board was that of House VP of Special Events. From there he moved on to Executive VP under President Brad Shaps and finally to being Men’s Club President from 2011 to 2013. During his presidency, Harvey is extremely proud that there were a number of future Presidents on the board who provided and would continue to provide great service to the club for years to come.

Harvey also wants to remember a sad occasion during his term as president. During his two years, his Executive Vice President Alan Medansky (of blessed memory) passed away. It was a sad time for Harvey and the club, but he gives a lot of credit to the Past Presidents who stepped in to help out and form a plan for the future.

Along with being very active at CBS (and every synagogue he has been a member of), Harvey is a very dedicated and active member of the FJMC. Within the FJMC, Harvey has served as Midwest Region Treasurer (2013-2017), Executive VP of the Midwest Region (2017-2019) and the Midwest Region President (2019-2021). Serving as president of the region is always a tough task, but doing it during the COVID-19 pandemic added an extra challenge. Many traditional activities and events were either canceled or moved to virtual settings. Harvey is extremely proud that the Midwest Region was voted the Outstanding Region at the 2021 Virtual Convention (repeated at the 2023 in-person Philadelphia Convention). Harvey has attended 7 FJMC conventions!!

Harvey is very proud of his 3 children Ken, Charles (Sharon), and Ariel. Harvey’s two grandchildren Elana and Jack were active in USY and are now both in college. Harvey, a CPA for over 50 years, spends a great deal of time at the synagogue or FJMC functions, but when he is not busy at CBS or the region he can often be found rooting on his beloved LA Dodgers. He is a lifelong Dodgers fan, following in the footsteps of his father who was a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers, dating back to the days of the legendary Jackie Robinson.

B’Shalom,

Bob Goldwin