Staff Notebook
Newest SZ Board
hen it was time for the April 30 vote for
Congregation Shaarey Zedek's new slate
of officers, 1,500 members turned out
to cast their ballots.
Before the vote, the large group offered a
standing ovation tribute to Rabbi Leonardo
Bitran, who will be leaving the congregation this
summer for a position in San Antonio, Texas.
Installed at the 142nd annual meeting of
Shaarey Zedek were Steven R. Weisberg, presi-
dent; Martin Gene, first vice president; Gregg
Orley, second vice president; David Wallace,
treasurer; and Brian Hermelin, secretary.
Board members serving first three-year terms are
Beverly Baker, Karen Katz, Steven Fishman and
Larry Nemer. Board members serving second three-
year terms are Dr. Jeffrey Eisman, James
Hooberman, Evelyn Kasle and Sally Krugel.
Clover Hill Cemetery trustees are Mitchell
Bleznak, Doreen Hermelin and Alan S.Schwartz.
— Shelli Liebman Dorfman
W
Lt. Col. Christopher Palmer
plays the bunker in Kuwait.
5/ 9
2003
14
Seryak poses with Gov. Jennifer Granholm
during the ceremony.
Golfing In The Gulf
Essay Award Winner
few weeks after Ronald Silberstein of
Farmington Hills organized a campaign to
ship golf equipment and supplies to American
troops stationed in Kuwait, he opened up his e-mail
to find both a written and photographic thank you.
E-mailed photos — direct from Ahmed Al Jaber
Air Base in Kuwait — showed an unlikely golfer. U.
S. Air Force Lt. Col. Christopher G. Palmer stood, in
uniform, ready to swing one of the clubs sent to mili-
tary personnel last month.
Lt. Col. Palmer wrote to Silberstein, that the photo
was "taken in front of a bunker which we ran to every
time you saw on the news about an air-raid siren
going off in Kuwait City."
Lt. Col. Palmer had been the catalyst for "Golf in
the Gulf," a project that brought hitting nets, mats,
plastic practice golf balls, gloves, hats, clubs and other
golf supplies to troops based in the Persian Gulf near
the Kuwait-Iraq border. An orthopedic surgeon, he
ate Seryak, 17, a junior at Detroit Country
Day School in Beverly Hills, won first place
in a Holocaust essay competition sponsored
by CHAIM, Children of Holocaust Survivors
Association in Michigan.
Seryak of Dearborn Heights read her essay,
"What made it possible for the Holocaust to occur
and why is the study of the Holocaust relevant to
students today?" during the Yom HaShoah corn-
memoration ceremony on April 30 at the Capitol
Rotunda in Lansing.
Second place winner was Freya Pitts, also from
Country Day. Third place winner was Samantha
Meert from Greenville High School in central
Michigan.
At the program in Lansing, Bradley Gonik, 15,
of West Bloomfield spoke about anti-Semitism.
A
3a:4
was about to be deployed for eight months along with
100 medical and support troops from the Colorado
Springs' USAF Academy Hospital, when his general
suggested he seek out golf equipment for the troops.
That's when Silberstein, CFO-CAO of Pro Golf
of America Inc. in Farmington Hill, set "Golf in the
Gulf" in motion, asking staff at 110 Pro Golf stores
nationwide, including six in Michigan, to help gath-
er supplies.
Lt. Col. Palmer's note of "sincere thanks ... for the
overwhelming response of golf equipment" shows the
success of the project's desire to help troop morale and
provide an occasional diversion from their mission.
In addition to photos, the lieutenant colonel paid a
unique tribute to Silberstein. "I had the special ops
search and rescue team fly a special flag over Iraq on
one of their missions for you," he wrote of the token
he later sent to Silberstein with a certificate of thanks.
"It made us feel great about being able to provide the
troops with the golf equipment they had requested,"
Silberstein said. "We're many miles away and yet we feel
like we were able to help in the Iraqi Freedom efforts."
— Shelli Liebman Dorfman
IC
— Harry Kirsbaum
Making Waves On The Air
ormer Detroiter Rick Bloom now hosts a
Phoenix radio show that fills the afternoon
drive time with political parodies, imperson-
ations and well-known guests like ESPN sportscaster
Dick Vitale and comedienne Rita Rudner.
The Rick Bloom Show ranges from sports to
music to politics to current events:
"I've made about 26 parodies that have aired,"
Bloom told the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. "I
did one about North Korea to the tune of 'Come to
Papa' by Bob Seger. The headline is 'They've Got
Two Million Nukes and 1.2 Million Troops'."
His impersonations include Richard Nixon and
Henry Kissinger. All of his commercials are done to
the beat of songs by Detroit rapper Eminem.
The show took to the air from 4-6 p.m. weekdays
in February on KMYL (NBC 1190).
"It was a dream to entertain people," Bloom told
the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. "I've always
wanted to and I can't believe that I'm able to do it."
Bloom, 48, is a Detroit College
of Law graduate who worked in
real estate and as an attorney
before moving West in 1996 after
falling in love with Phoenix on a
golfing trip. He and his wife,
Robin, have two daughters,
Jennifer, 21, and Courtney, 17.
Bloom was an assistant to Dick
Vitale when the sports legend
Bloom
coached the University of Detroit
men's basketball team during some
of its best seasons.
In addition to doing all the pro-
ducing, editing, writing, booking and marketing for
his radio show, Bloom owns Health Exchange of
Arizona, a temporary nursing registry for private
home care.
Bloom pegs his radio show as liberal-light and lis-
),
tener-themed — "a fun show.
"I don't mind people being conservative, but I
don't like the lecturing. You don't want to be talked
down to like you're stupid. I let the listeners talk and
show off their knowledge."
In a Web announcement, he says: "Though I lack
experience, I am very funny, creative, liberal, and
driven to be successful."
— Robert A. Sklar
F
Corrections
• The Kidz Klez Band performs 2 p.m. Sunday,
May 18, at Congregation Beth Ahm. Call
(248) 752-6669 for tickets: patrons, $118
(includes preferred seating-complimentary Kidz
Klez CD); supporters, $36 (preferred seating
after patrons); fans, $18 (guaranteed seating);
friends (free seating with donation at door).
• Nazi Germany's liquidation of the Warsaw
Ghetto was planned in honor of Hitler's 54th
birthday on April 20, 1943, not his 44th, as
reported in a caption accompanying the story
"Remembering" (May 2, page 22).