South Jersey’s own Jed Friedman is the newly elected International Moreh, and will be serving on the 94th International BBYO Board. As 95 teens from South Jersey Region BBYO departed BBYO’s International Convention, they were tired, excited to bring home what they learned, and overjoyed that one of their own was elected to the 94th International Board of BBYO. Jed Friedman, South Jersey Region’s Regional Moreh (Vice President of Membership), has been working tirelessly for months preparing for this election. Friedman has prepared a vision statement for the future of BBYO’s membership, priority papers to delineate his goals for the year, written his speech, and more.
Friedman has been a member of BBYO for four years and as he has grown with the organization, he has dreamed of one day serving on the Grand Board of the Aleph Zadik Aleph (also known as International Board). To prepare for this stage, Friedman has held many board positions at the chapter and regional level, attended BBYO’s summer leadership programs (CLTC, ILTC, and Kallah), and took any leadership opportunity he could find. It all came to fruition over President’s Day Weekend at International Convention in Orlando, Florida, when over 3,000 Jewish teens congregated from over 40 countries to join as one community, learn together, and prepare for the future. Friedman was elected as the 27th Grand Aleph Moreh by over 200 of his peer leaders and they put their confidence in Friedman that he will lead all of the regions to new heights at recruiting new members, educating teens on where BBYO has come from, and improving our retention.
“I have been wanting this for a very long time, and to finally get it is an awesome feeling,” said Friedman. “I am super eager and excited to serve for the AZA body and help grow the movement one Aleph at a time.”
By winning the election, Friedman became South Jersey Region’s most recent International Board member, preceded by Sarah Minion as International President in 2012- 2013.
Friedman said, “It is a huge honor to represent South Jersey Region as a member of the Grand Board. This is not something to take lightly. I am hoping this will serve as inspiration for the entire region.”
The International Board of BBYO is comprised of the AZA Grand Board and the BBG International Board, and they are tasked with overseeing the entire International Order of BBYO, leading new initiatives, and creating resources for their counterparts around the world. As Grand Aleph Moreh, Friedman will be responsible for ensuring a strong brotherhood throughout the entire order, teaching his counterparts throughout the order, and coordinating a Chapter Leadership Training Conference (CLTC) during the summer, and much more.
“I have a strong passion for the Moreh position, and I cannot wait to begin my responsibilities. I hope I am able to teach valuable lessons to my counterparts and keep the AZA tradition alive,” said Friedman.
In addition to Friedman’s candidacy, Brett Eisenberg, South Jersey Region’s 57th Regional Aleph Godol, also ran for a position on the Grand Board. He ran for the position of the 94th Grand Aleph Godol. While he did not result as a victor, he learned a lot from the experience and inspired many teens from around the region.
“My candidacy for the position wasn’t for myself. It was for SJR because they deserved it,” said Eisenberg. “These teens’ love for this order is unparalleled.
The position is just a title, however the impact that I can have on these teens is really what matters.”
With elections being a small part of the weekend, IC featured numerous high-profile guest speakers, such as Olympian Aly Raisman, HQ host Scott Rogowsky, actor Josh Peck, and women’s soccer player Abby Wambach. Also, performances were made by AJR, Daya, Fetty Wap and Steve Aoki.
International Convention wrapped up the month of February on a very high note. The regional Spring Kickoff will be on March 3, and the MIT/AIT new member convention will be March 23-24.
For more information on any upcoming events, contact the BBYO office at sjr@bbyo.org.
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