SCC is also a time to handle Eastern Region BBYO business. The six elected regional presidents (one BBG and one AZA from each council) give a state of the region (“States”) where they review the successes and challenges of the past year. The new regional board is also elected.

Simcha BBG’s Skylar Caplan was elected as the fourth regional mazkirah (secretary) of Eastern Region. Mazkirah is responsible for managing Instagram posts, social media storytelling, designing flyers, and creating digital materials, as well as taking meeting notes, tracking member information, and keeping records of gatherings. Skylar will do this and more while leading and supporting her chapter counterparts in the region (all the mazkirahs in each BBG/BBYO chapter).

Conventions bring members together for a fun and meaningful weekend of programming, activities, Shabbat moments, and hanging out with friends. More than a few tears were shed upon departure.

Members are already looking forward to L’dor V’dor Convention (LVC) taking place November 13-15 outside Charlotte, North Carolina.

To learn more about supporting One Happy Camper or to begin a conversation about establishing a lasting legacy through this initiative, contact Naomi Limor Sedek at Tidewater Jewish Foundation, nsedek@tjfva.org or 757-965-6109.

To learn more about Camp JCC, Kids Night Out, School Days Out, children’s classes, and more, contact Christine Carnahan, Camp JCC manager, at ccarnahan@ujft.org or 757-452-3182.

Those who would like to join BeAR in the upcoming 2026/27 school year should contact Robin Ford at 757-321-2304 or rford@ujft.org.

 As a child, his mother taught him to notice when someone needed help, to carry groceries for a neighbor, to lend a hand without being asked, to show up for others simply because it mattered. Those early lessons became the foundation of who he is.

Today, that same instinct to serve defines Aiden, the 2026 recipient of the Stein Family Scholarship. He will attend JMU. 

A senior at Kempsville High School, Aiden has built a strong record of leadership and community involvement, from mentoring elementary school students to volunteering extensively and serving as a student representative on the Virginia Beach Resort Advisory Committee.

 “I’ve just always been taught to help,” Aiden says. “If anyone calls, I’m there.”

His approach is grounded in servant leadership. “You’re not being a leader to grow yourself; you’re being a leader to grow others,” he says. “And then you grow with them.”

 That commitment to serving others is also deeply rooted in his Jewish identity. From helping at synagogue to founding and leading the Jewish Student Association at Kempsville High School, Aiden has carried those values into his everyday life. 

 That mindset is shaping his future. Aiden plans to study hospitality and tourism management alongside business administration. He hopes to return to Virginia Beach to support local, family-owned businesses and create shared spaces that bring people together. “I really just want to help the local community thrive,” he says.

 The Stein Family Scholarship, created in memory of Arlene Shea Stein, reflects a legacy of compassion and a belief that education should be accessible to all.

“This scholarship gave me options,” Aiden says. “If I don’t have to work just to pay off debt, I can put that energy into helping others and making a bigger impact.”

 Naomi Limor Sedek, Tidewater Jewish Foundation president and CEO, says, “When we see young leaders like Aiden, alongside families like the Steins who continue to invest in the next generation, we are reminded that the future of our Jewish community is strong. We can move forward with confidence knowing it is in the hands of individuals who are deeply committed to service, leadership, and lifting others.”

 For Aiden, the opportunity carries responsibility. “It’s not just about what this does for me,” he says. “It’s about everyone I’ll be able to help because of it.”  And in that way, the lessons he learned as a child continue to ripple outward, shaping not only his path, but the lives he will touch along the way. “There’s no such thing as a missed opportunity. Just opportunities that lead you somewhere different.”

As a child in Houston, Linda attended Sunday School, became a Bar Mitzvah (he says his parents “made him,” but he’s now happy about that – especially since he’s still friends with his Bar Mitzvah Buddy), and went to synagogue with his family for all of the major holidays, and some of the minor ones, too.  

 Linda’s teen years were spent at Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where half of each school day concentrated on theater classes, including everything from voice lessons to learning aspects of lighting, costumes, etc.  Those classes he says, ensures he really appreciates the behind-the-scenes people, who “work many more hours than I do.”

In 2016, Linda left Houston for Chicago to attend Northwestern University, where he majored in theater. He’s one of those 2020 graduates whose graduation ceremony and festivities took place via Zoom.  

Not to be deterred, however, he’s remained in the Windy City, appearing in several productions at various theaters. Among his favorites are the Band’s Visit and Fiddler on the Roof.

“I’m obsessed with the score of the Band’s Visit,” he muses.  

Besides singing and dancing, Linda plays the piano and is a self-taught percussionist.  

The original animated version of The Lion King, he says, was “on the VHS rotation at home” when he was a toddler. He first saw the stage production when he was 12 years old once the national touring company made it to Houston. 

 Linda’s audition for the show is a story filled with mishaps that sound as if they are perfect fodder for a film about the trials of young actors.  His agent encouraged him to put together an audition tape that turned out to be good enough to get him a ‘callback’ to New York City. His trip from Chicago included being “trapped in Milwaukee” due to a cancelled flight, managing to get the last seat on “a crack-of-the-dawn” Delta flight bound for New York, taking a cab to the wrong place, and basically “feeling like a train wreck running on four hours of sleep” when he finally arrived at his audition.  “Maybe all of that helped,” he laughs, as he got the job!

And it’s a job doing what he loves that is taking him around the country to see and experience new places, such as Norfolk. (When asked if he had ever been to this city, he first responded, “Is THAT how you say it?!?) Quickly getting the pronunciation correct, he says he hopes to explore the entire area as time permits.

Feeling like he’s standing on the shoulders of Jewish humorists such as Eugene Levy and Mel Brooks, as well as those of his great grandfather who ran the synagogue in Crowley, La., Linda is appreciative of his roots. That great grandfather had a truck spray-painted orange with ‘Shalom Y’all!’ on the side.

“I think I inherited some of that humor.  He wore his Jewishness on his sleeve.”

 “There’s no way I would be where I am without the support of my parents,” he says.  “They are my biggest support system.  I try to tell them I appreciate them when I can.”

Linda says he is “Super grateful that I get to do this.  It’s so cool.”

The touring schedule for The Lion King says, “To be continued,” so Sam Linda might be on the road for a good long while.

The Lion Kingruns through Sunday, May 17
at Norfolk’s Chrysler Hall. Tickets are available
at the Scope Arena box office and at Ticketmaster.com. 

The advocates held more than 100 meetings with staff for members of the House and Senate.

Among the meetings, Goretsky says that the one with a staff member of Senator Mark Warner’s was particularly productive.  “He has Israeli family,” she says. 

She also had a good meeting with staff from Congresswoman Jen Kiggan’s office.

One of the most impactful portions of the day, according to Goretsky was a lunch where four U.S. Senators – Elissa Slotkin, Marsha Blackburn, Jacky Rosen, and James Lankford – spoke to the group.  “It was excellent,” she says.

Hadassah’s coordinated advocacy effort took place amid record numbers of antisemitic incidents in the US and continuing discussions in Congress about America’s support for Israel.

 “Hadassah has never sat on the sidelines, and we are not going to do so at this pivotal moment,” says Carol Ann Schwartz, National president. “We brought the combined strength of our nearly 300,000 members, donors, and supporters directly to Congress to stand firm against antisemitism, to uphold the strategic US-Israel alliance, and to safeguard the health and well-being of women everywhere.”

 Hadassah’s Day of Impact reflects the organization’s broader national advocacy network, which mobilizes members across all 50 states to engage policymakers at the federal, state, and local level. 

 Hadassah’s priority issues include increased funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which will protect American communities at risk of terrorist attack; support for medical innovation and US-Israel medical partnerships, including the MIRACLE Act; and expanded federal investment in women’s health research, particularly for conditions that disproportionally affect women.

 Hadassah also reaffirms its commitment to advancing women’s health priorities through expanded research, inclusive clinical trials and stronger protections for personal health data.

Goretsky is a national board member for Hadassah and serves as chair of both the Zionist Affairs Department and Nurse and Allied Health Professionals Council.

 Rush Week is when BBYO chapters host events that are targeted towards new members, in an attempt to attract more people to get involved and join. 

 On Wednesday, March 18, both chapters held their respective programs, with Simcha hosting Pizza, PJ’s, and Productivity night and OD’s blue-collar night with yard games. 

 “It was a great atmosphere, even though no one really got all that much work done,” says Leah Steerman, a Simcha board member, when recounting the Pizza, PJ’s, and Productivity program. 

 Tidewater BBYO also attended the Norfolk Admirals game on March 22 to finish the week. The Virginia Council presidents from Richmond, Nica Shapovalova and Kaden Staffenberg, joined the local chapters at the game. The group watched three thrilling periods before the game went into overtime, with the Admirals coming out on top versus the Greensboro Gargoyles with a final score of 4-3. 

 With these programs completed, both chapters are looking forward to finishing the term out strong and are anticipating the upcoming spring regional convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.