Thanking those who volunteer their time

Temple Beth Am, the reform Jewish congregation of Merrick and Bellmore, celebrated its past presidents at a special dinner.

The congregation — which seeks to balance tradition with human needs of the past, present and future — felt the time was right to honor past presidents.

Lori Boccadoro, current co-president of the congregation with Nicole Miller, told the Herald that being congregation president is a voluntary position, and a labor of love, that largely gets no recognition.

An awards ceremony and dinner was held in the social at Temple Beth Am, located at 277 Merrick Ave., Merrick. 

Those honored were:

- Hal Horowitz, 1988-1991

- Allen Bender, 1991-1993, 2005-2009

- Bill Levine, 2005-2010

- Charles Rosenblum, 2010-2012

- Pamela Brandenberger, 2012-2014

- David Plass, 2014-2016

- Paul Ross, 2016-2019

- Shari Waissbach, 2016-2019

- Michael Krassner, 2019-2021

- Elizabeth Roth, 2019-2021

- Jeff Newman, 2021-2022

- Lori Boccadoro, 2021-2022

The temple also honored past presidents from Temple Shaari Shalom, which merged with Temple Beth Am.

Those honored included:

- Jerald Herman, 1983-1985, 1999-2001

- Steven Girgenti, 1990-1991

—Jordan Vallone