Lodge Bezalel News

Our June OLM: Spread Your Kindness

If you're getting old but still feel young, you can channel your zest for life by volunteering with the One Good Deed Friendly Visitor Program. It matches older adults with volunteers for friendship and companionship.

You can learn all about the program and volunteer opportunities from our June OLM Table Lodge speaker, Vivienne Kurland, who manages the program JF&CS.

Kind and compassionate friendly visitors make a monumental difference in the lives of the older adults in our community - reducing loneliness and isolation and giving them meaningful social connections. 

Date: June 16
Place: Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs GA 30328
Snacks & Schmooze: 7 p.m.
OLM: 7:30 p.m. (HOD Brethren Only)
Table Lodge & Dinner: 8:15 p.m. (Open to All)

Dress Code: Business Casual

RSVP Required - so we have enough food.

A Table Lodge Slam Dunk

Morgan Shaw Parker, President and COO of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream gave Lodge Bezalel into the team, the league and what it's like to be on the business side sports.

What's in a team name?

What makes the Atlanta Dream so special?

What makes the WNBA so special?

Who are the most interesting athletes she ever met?

Those were some of the questions that Morgan Shaw Parker, President and COO of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream answered for the inquiring minds of Lodge Bezalel Bros as the Table Lodge speaker for our May OLM.

About that name? The Dream comes from Martin Luther King Jr's famous "I have a dream" speech, which inspired the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and led to Atlanta becoming a hub of the movement. But it took an executive with a feel for her community to reach out to the King family in the early 2020's and close the loop of history, the present and the future.

That was the doing of Shaw Parker, who worked her way up to marketing and communications leadership roles with the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United before taking over the business operations of the Dream in 2021 during a pivotal year in which the organization welcomed a new ownership, new leadership, new Head Coach, and a brand vision to to become the best place to work and play in all sports (not just women’s sports).

That's what made the team special, and the recent collective bargaining agreement with its pay raises and improved working conditions for female athletes are what make the league special for Shaw Parker. 

In 27 years in sports marketing and management, including more than a decade with Nike, she said Ndamukong Suh, a four-time All-Pro defensive tackle who was often criticized for his aggressive style of play and lack of sportsmanship, was a delightful, sensitive person off the field. And Kobe Bryant always brought one of his daughters to meetings with Nike.

Welcome Aboard Bros Rich Cohen and Mark Doctor

We're happy to welcome two new brethren into our fold. Bros Rich Cohen (second from right in the photo above) and Mark Doctor (second from left in the photo above) were initiated in a ceremony last night held at Lodge Shimshon. Both were sponsored by WB Alan Wind (right in the photo above), who kept it in the family. Bro Rich is a cousin, and Bro Mark is married to one of WB Alan's cousins.

On hand to welcome them into our fold were WB Ron Scheinzeit, Secretary for Lodge Bezalel, (left), and WB Stan Schnitzer (center), Scribe for Lodge Bezalel and North America Governing Lodge, who presented them with their certificates, badges and kippot.

Read Our OLM Minutes

Click here to read the minutes of our monthly OLMs. Please remember to log in. This page is accessible only to Bezalel Bros.

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