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N R A

AZA Basketball League 1982: front row, Gary Naftaly, Bobby Efros, Mike Horwitz,
Ivan Katz; back row, Steve "Da" Schwartz, Ted Efros, Rob Gal, Al Blasé, Jeff

Richards.

Rose AZA members and friends at the 1981 District Convention in Elkhart Lake,
Wis. Adviser Micky Rosner is on the far left.

For The Good Times

Rose AZA alumni plan a reunion of their beloved chapter.

Bill Carroll
Special to the Jewish News

T

he alumni of former Detroit
area Rose AZA Chapter # 656,
somewhat jealous after hearing
and reading about the reunions of high
school and college classes and fraternity
and sorority groups, decided to hold one
of their own.
But they don't believe in long planning
periods or fancy reunion dinners. They
started planning the event in February,
and expect close to 100 old-time mem-
bers to gather informally at Mr. Joe's in
Southfield on Sunday, June 3. The popular
beer-and-hamburger establishment,
normally closed on Sunday, is owned by
Rose AZA alum Michael Abrams. Several
alumni are coming from out of state, and
there will be a special video presentation.
"The alumni, ranging in age from
their 30s to 60s, have been talking about
a reunion for years; now we're finally
going to do it:' said event chairman and
Michigan BBYO Commission member Ted
Efros of Bloomfield Township.
He and Mickey Rosner of West
Bloomfield, a former chapter advisor, are
key members of a small planning com-
mittee. "It's a labor of love and we're really
excited about the reunion:' Efros said.
The Rose AZA Chapter was named after
Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose, who served in
both world wars and was killed in action
in Europe in 1945. The grandson of rab-

bis, he was the highest-ranking Jew in
the military at the time of his death. The
AZA (Aleph Zedek Aleph) was launched
in 1924, in a way emulating the Greek-let-
tered fraternities; but the individual chap-
ters are named after famous Jews.
Rose AZA was formed in 1953, drawing
members from the old Jewish neighbor-
hoods in Detroit, mainly Central and
Mumford high school students whose
families followed the Jewish population
migration to northwest Detroit, Oak Park
and Southfield. The chapter was strongest
in the 1970s to early 1990s, usually with
40 active teenage members at a time. The
chapter folded in 1994; the alumni had a
small-scale reunion in 1983.
AZA and B'nai B'rith Girls are gov-
erned by the national B'nai B'rith Youth
Organization. Arnie Weiner of Huntington
Woods is director of the Michigan Region
BBYO, headquartered in the Jewish
Community Center in West Bloomfield.
The state BBYO has close to 1,000 mem-
bers each year.
"We always have been a closeknit group
of guys, and we formed lasting friend-
ships that continue today:' Efros said.
"There were marriages between AZA
and BBG members, and some children of
former members belong to those groups
today. We hope this reunion will keep our
AZA alumni meeting on an annual basis.
"Until recently, BBYO has done an
excellent job of promoting the Jewish
heritage and awareness among the area's

youth; I can't think of anyone growing up
in the old days who didn't have a good
time in BBYO. However, as an organiza-
tion, we are trying to do a better job of
developing an alumni base to help ensure
that a high level of programming and
community involvement will continue."

Seeking Alums

Michele Siegal of Beverly Hills also feels
the alumni had better experiences in AZA
and BBG than in high school or college. As
a member of the Michigan BBYO execu-
tive committee in charge of alumni devel-
opment, she's working on plans to bolster
the alumni base, using lists of members
from different eras to network and get
them interested again.
"We in the state office are trying our
best to reconnect with the alumni and get
them more involved in the community
and participate in BBYO activities:' she
said. "Going to reunions like this one for
Rose AZA is a great way to do it."
She'll attend because her husband,
Arthur Siegal, is a Rose AZA alumnus and
she belonged to a BBG chapter.
Efros credits the "outstanding leader-
ship" of Mickey Rosner, now age 60, as an
adviser during Rose AZA's heyday with
the success of the chapter. "He was our
big brother, friend and confidant:' Efros
recalled.
"We had great camaraderie among
the boys, and I was blessed that we had
no real problems with any of them; 99

percent were terrific kids," said Rosner.
"There were the usual teenage pranks, but
no problems related to drugs or alcohol or
anything remotely connected with that.
"We had fun selling refreshments at
Lions football games and other events at
the Pontiac Silverdome, plus marathon
softball games as our main fundraisers.
The money went into a national AZA
service fund to help the needy, aid in
national disasters, scholarships, etc.
"Our members had a special bond
among them then and worked hard
for the community, and that continues
among the alumni today. Our chapter also
selected a sweetheart from a BBG group
each year, and we're seeking any of those
sweethearts who may still be around the
community today to attend the reunion."
Rose AZA hopes to raise enough funds
from the reunion to launch an endow-
ment for BBYO that will create the Rose
AZA Most Outstanding Chapter Award. It
would be given to a current AZA chapter
at the organization's annual convention.
"We hope the reunion will spark a
chain reaction among other chapters to
get their alumni involved;' Efros said.

The reunion of Rose AZA Chapter
#656 will begin at 6 p.m. Sunday,
June 3, at Mr. Joe's, 26077 W.12
Mile Road in Southfield. For informa-
tion, call Ted Efros, (248) 561-6001.

May 24 2007

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