Shomrei Torah is so fortunate to have many volunteers that give their time and energy to our congregation.  June's Volunteer of the Month is Rob Baron. Rob was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and moved to New Jersey when he started his first job as an actuary for a pension consulting firm in Fort Lee. Rob is now a senior consultant for USI Consulting Group in New York City, where he works on the design of retirement programs for partnerships, corporations and non-profit organizations.

We recognize Rob for his hard work and dedication to our Purim Carnival and the synagogue. Now in his sixth year as co-chair of the Purim Carnival, Rob says that each year he strives to add new games and improve the quality of the prizes. The games that prove to be popular are used again the following year and those that don't work out are dropped. "If we can add one or two games each year that the kids really enjoy, then we've done a good job," Rob says. Also, many of the more popular prizes in recent years have actually come as donations from local stores that Rob has solicited.

 "One of my favorite memories from Hebrew School was the Purim Carnival. I used to play most of the games at least once, and then I spent the rest of my tickets on the Milk Bottle Toss." (By the way, here's the trick for knocking down all of the milk bottles – stand a few feet to the right (for a rightly) or left (for a lefty) of the bottles, and throw on a wide angle, almost sidearm. If you're a righty (lefty), aim for a spot between the center and right (center and left) bottles on the bottom row, preferably near the top third of the bottles.)

In addition to his work with the Purim Carnival, Rob is also an officer of the Men's Club and was a member of the Strategic Leadership Initiative Team in 2009, where he helped to develop a strategic plan for the Shul.

While he enjoys working on projects for the Shul, Rob most enjoys spending time with his family – his wife Susan and their two children, 10th grader Danielle and 12th grader Evan. Both of his kids are avid skiers and the entire family enjoys playing tennis.

We are truly grateful to Rob for his devotion and dedication to Shomrei Torah