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Friday, December 20, 1985 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Andrea Gordman,
left, and Emily
Burns look over
Gordman's Detroit
schedule.

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TEEN EMISSARY

As international president
of B'nai B'rith Girls,
Andrea Gordman spreads
the word about BBG.

BY HEIDI PRESS
Local News Editor

It's a good thing Andrea
Gordman likes to travel, even
though sometimes she's unsure of
where she is and what time zone
she's in.
Otherwise, the 18-year-old
Omaha, Neb., high school graduate
would have a difficult time crossing
the country and visiting B'nai B'rith
Girls as the 41st international n'siah
(president) of the teen girls affiliate
of B'nai B'rith.
The head of the • international
girls organization for one year,
Gordman sees her role as a shaliach
(emissary) of -sorts. She visits the
various chapters to discuss BBG
programs, discuss' chapter problems
and survey the membership about
what they like about the organiza-
tion. She meets mainly with chap-
ters and regional boards, and has
also met with the leadership of the
parent body.
While in Detroit recently, she
met with the 18 BBG chapters in the
Michigan region. She spent a brief
time in Windsor where she had a
"really good discussion" with the
youth activities committee of the
Windsor Jewish Community Council.
There she described the B'nai B'rith
Youth Organization and distributed
publications.
Gordman usually spends a week
in each region but took out ten days
for her busy schedule to meet with
the Michigan membership.
This is one of our biggest
regions," she said. "There is a lot to
do here, a lot to see."
Coming from what she called a
Reform Jewish background,
Gordman said it was her parents'
influence that made her join BBG.
She didn't have a lot of Jewish
friends growing up in Omaha and
found she could meet many of her
co-religionists through the organiza-
tion. She met other Jewish teens at
leadership conclaves and found them
to be "a major motivating factor" in
her life.
Her motivation, however, is' not
a recent phenomenon.
Since joining BBG five years
ago, she has held many positions on