Gov. Tom Ridge
Former Pennsylvania Governor and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge held court on the Lakewood stage on a variety of topics from how to improve the United States’ position in the world to how we can better protect this country.
As we begin our 89th year of Amity (yes it has been that long), let’s reflect a little on how far we have come as a club. Many of you have heard the stories from Ben and our dear departed friend Ralph about the origins of the club and its start as a social club for Jewish men. The card games, the shows, the entertainers, the food, but most importantly the fun and friendships that were established by being a member of Amity.
Amity President Michael Sadagursky speaks at our Outing
As the world evolved so did Amity and golf became the driving force behind the club’s activities. Don’t get me wrong, the golf is still an important part of Amity, and hopefully you can tell by the courses we will be playing this year and the painstaking detail we have taken to make these golf events competitive yet fun. At the same time, we have started to take a step backwards in a way, and re-emphasize the social aspects that our Amity founders foresaw in creating this club. We now have a social (non-golf) membership, have added a Nationals game, poker nights, new restaurants and a variety of speakers to our schedule, starting with Tom Ridge at our January 27th New Member Brunch.
And we are not done…..look for a couple more events to be added. But we can’t do it alone. As the Marines say “We Are Looking for a Few Good Men.” This means we need you to help us grow by bringing those that could benefit from Amity to the January 27th event. Again, the bigger we are, the more options we have in courses and entertainment choices. It also means, even more importantly, that we need you to participate – become an active Amity member. A lot of work goes into planning the full slate of events each year – make that your New Year’s resolution to attend more events and help solidify the friendships and camaraderie of Amity membership. Finally it means help us make the club even better – join committees or start a new one, and give us ideas on courses, restaurants, speakers and events that will solidify our position as one of the top men’s social organizations in the Washington D.C. area.
We are looking for a great turnout for our Annual New Member Brunch on Sunday, January 27 that 10:00 A.M. at Lakewood Country Club. As mentioned, our special guest speaker is Tom Ridge, former Homeland Security Secretary, and former Governor of Pennsylvania. This is the perfect event to introduce new members to the Amity way, so make it your business to bring in a new member or two.
Now here sits Bertram R. Abramson, 99 years old, lifelong lover of baseball — especially Washington baseball — wearing his new Nationals hat and talking about the time he saw his hometown team play in the World Series.“Game One, 1924,” he says. “Walter Johnson pitched for the Senators. It was a good game, very well-played.”The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga, Chico Harlan, Adam Kilgore, James Wagner and columnist Thomas Boswell recall the journey of the Washington Nationals since the team moved from Montreal to winning its first division title in 79 years, and all the good and bad moments in between.
He remembers much of the detail like it was yesterday, even though it was more than 32,000 yesterdays ago, on Oct. 4, 1924, when Abramson sat in the aisle at old Griffith Stadium and watched the very first World Series game ever played in Washington.
Dear Amity Club President Wollins,
Steve, I have been meaning to write and thank you again for all the wonderful help (and donations) the Amity Club of Washington provided to B’nai Israel Congregation’s Mitzvah day! There are countless places where your members could donate your time so we especially appreciate that you picked B’nai.
We were able to include a prominent mention of your group in our post-event write up and appreciated that you sent us a write up. A pdf copy of the article is attached.
In addition we’ve attached some pictures taken of the group, which you are welcome to use. Hopefully you will consider participating in B’nai Israel’s Mitzvah Day next time.
Thanks again and Shalom,
Elizabeth H. Bono
Program Associate to Rabbi Michael Safra
B’nai Israel Congregation
Amity members feel a strong pride in using their collective muscle in contributing to community needs. From building sukkot to repairing homes and making sandwiches, Amity members are there to help. In addition, a portion of annual dues goes to charitable contributions. Here is a partial list of organizations benefiting from Amity generosity:
Amity members worked with the Montgomery County, Md group, Building Together, to help renovate a home in Kensington, Md. The effort is called Sukkot in April. The group got off to an early start and assisted with the initial phases of the project by removing junk, some landscaping and cleaning the walls in preparation of painting. It will take 3 full weekends and the efforts of dozens of volunteers to renovate the home of Ms. T. The day was very productive and rewarding for everyone involved.
