I grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, a small city with a larger Jewish population than you might think. My parents were members of an Orthodox shul, and I attended an Orthodox day school for grades K-6 and then an after-school religious program in grade 7. My father attended Shabbat services when he could, and I have fond memories of walking the 1½ miles to services with him.

I graduated from Clark University in Worcester, Mass., where I majored in mathematics. Following that I attended the University of Pennsylvania where I received an MBA with a concentration in accounting and also a commission as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves. My working career spanned 42 years in accounting and auditing, first in public accounting and then in the insurance industry. I retired at the end of 2015.

I met Iris in 1979 through a Jewish singles group, the 1970’s equivalent of JDate. We were married in 1980 and moved to Wayne in 1983 from Edison. We have two married sons—Paul (Samara) and Andrew (Natalie).

We joined Shomrei Torah because we both felt at home in a traditional Conservative Jewish environment and found the shul to be a welcoming community. Over the years I have been honored to serve on the Board of Trustees, Executive Board (Financial Secretary), Finance Committee, Ritual Commit-tee, High Holiday Honors Committee and I’ve served as High Holiday coordinator. I’ve been the regular Sunday morning service leader for 20+ years, and I often lead parts of the Shabbat morning service and High Holiday service. When weekday services moved to Zoom this March, I began supporting and often leading the weekday morning and evening service as well.

In my spare time I deliver Kosher Meals on Wheels for Jewish Family and Children’s Services one morning a week. I enjoy reading, cooking, and keeping fit by walking around the neighborhood.

Iris and I are looking forward to staying active in the congregation for a long time to come. Many of our friends are here and we find the shul community to be as welcoming as when we joined 30+ years ago.