Regional Convention 2011 Recap

by Jake Weiss, 2011-2012 Koach President
Two and a half days, 52 hours, 400 kids, and an unforgettable weekend, or, in other words, Regional Convention. All the USYers arrived around 10:00 on Friday morning, and immediately regional elections again. From fitting 8 kids into a bus to pokemon to Margaret Meade quotes, Regional speeches were entertaining, informative, and gripping. By 2:00, the Regional Executive Board had been chosen. After a quick lunch, all four divisions separated for their specific elections. By the time Shabbat started, Regional and Divisional Boards had all been chosen, and USY’s future looked brighter than ever. After 25 hours of intense praying, eating, ruach, and sicha, USYers came together for the amazing Capture the Flag SA/TO program and an awesome, fun-filled night of music and dance. Sunday had a much more somber tone, with installations and senior discharges. Everyone was sad to see the weekend end, and even more sad to the Seniors’ run end. However, altogether it was once again and unforgettable, unfathomable, unbelievably amazing weekend for all in attendance.

by Morgan Brill, 2011-2012 METNY Social Actions/Tikun Olam VP
U –nity. We were united as we did Ruach Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Saturday night. We were united as we sang Birkat Hamazon every day this weekend. We have the greatest of times at each event because we are united, and united is how we stay involved, loving our united synagogue.

S- anctuary. USY is our sanctuary. This weekend we hung out with our friends, elected new regional and divisional boards, came together as a group in one of the most peaceful and comforting settings that I have experienced.  Slow Ruach.  My favorite thing to do at any event, “Slowach” was even better last weekend. We were perfectly in tune during favorites like Dror Yikrah, Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, and Adon Olam.

Y- outh. I think it is absolutely amazing that at every event we rise to the occasion, and act mature beyond our years. We participate actively in everything that we do, be it the amazing Israel programming, the tikkun olam program, or participating in services.

by Jordan Liebman, 2011-2012 METNY Religion/Education VP
Ok so the weekend started off with elections, which were incredibly, nerve racking yet also exciting. I’ll be honest I was on a high from the start when I won my election. Moving on to later in the day, Kabbalat Shabbat is my favorite part of the weekend and enjoyed it immensely. I really enjoyed the sichot, as rather than taking a very text related topic and keeping it that way “pop culture” was incorporated into the discussion, which I thought, was very cool. I seriously enjoyed the Memkad program. I’ve actually never seen so many USYers so eager to participate in an icebreaker program. Slow ruach was amazing as always: it is truly a touching and emotional experience to look around a giant circle and see dozens of USYers crying their eyes out. Later, Havdallah was also a touching experience, as I love Rachel and its emotional and also awesome to look out into the crowd and see the USYers, not even those on board, getting emotional. It shows the connection USY has to each and every young teen. The Sa/to program was awesome, as again so many people participated. I am not sure how much money was raised, but the program was really cool as it was innovative and creative. Overall, I really enjoyed the weekend and it is truly amazing to see the impact USY has on all USYers and how deeply they care about it.

 

by Daniel Koas, 2011-2012 Rakevet President
This past Regional Convention was one of the best regional events I have attended during my three years in USY. Aside from being elected to office for the second year in a row, I enjoyed the programming and, of course, hanging out with the best region in all of USY! Nothing can compare to the ruach that our region has. The prayers were touching, the sichot were relaxed, yet educational, and the overall enthusiasm was absolutely incredible. Personally, the most touching part of the weekend was witnessing the 8th graders being inducted into USY. Just seeing the smiles on their faces as they became USYers assured me that even after my time in USY is over, METNY will still be in good hands. The 2010-2011 Regional Executive Board and the RC Co-Chairs deserve a hearty Yasher Koach for all their hard work, and I am sure that this upcoming year will be even better.

 

by Michael Fleischer, 2011-2012 Kiryah President
Regional Convention is always a bittersweet event. While, yes, I am now the Kiryah Divisional President, as well as a METNY USY senior, all of my senior friends have now graduated and moved on from USY. Seeing them all cry at their last event is always the most depressing moment of the entire USY year. “An end to a brilliant four years,” a friend of mine told me.
The most amazing part of every RC is always the Saturday night Slow-ach. All the seniors crowded as close as possible, singing the last songs they ever would at a USY event as USY’ers, the tears falling from their eyes. It is the most beautiful thing to watch. It shows just how much of an impact USY has had on their lives. Now that I am a USY senior I plan on living my last year of USY to its fullest. I know so many people who are jealous of the year I still have left in USY. Now it is my responsibility to live this next year with no regrets. Now it’s my turn!

 

by Max Bartell, 2011-2012 Chazak President
This past Regional Convention was really awesome. It was great to see all my friends on Friday as I arrived at the hotel. Regional elections were really fun to watch. A bunch of my friends got elected to Regional board, it was really an awesome sight to see! Next we went into Divisional elections. I was really nervous for my Divisional President speech but got up there and delivered it as well as I could. I waited with bated breath to hear that I had won Divisional President, I was absolutely ecstatic. It was really exciting to be a part of selecting my new board, I’m really excited for this year. After elections we went into a great Kabbalat Shabbat service, and awesome icebreaker program. After a delicious Shabbat dinner and a really intense ruach session, some of us went into a late-night Heschel study session, led by myself. The next morning we got to sleep a little bit later and had a great Shacharit service, followed by a really informative and fun Israel Affairs program. After some lunch and much needed chofesh, we went into Mincha. After Mincha we listened to the President’s keynote speech, followed by dinner. After dinner we had havdallah, with the new board and old board, a really great experience. It was then that I realized that it was up to our board to carry the glory of METNY through the next year. After some great programming and dance, we had our first Regional Board meeting to choose Encampment co-chairs. That was just part of an amazing weekend that was METNY Regional Convention 2011!!

 

By Sara Finkelstein, 2011-2012 METNY Membership/Kadima VP
This weekend was yet another USY convention that flew by all too quickly! I anticipate these conventions for weeks to come and then before I know it in the blink of an eye they’re over! This RC was one with many highlights most of which I’ll remember forever! The first highlight of RC was obviously winning my election! There was noo better feeling in the world then hearing Rachel Tallis say, “I have a very important announcement to make. The 2011-2012 regional mem/kad is Sara Finkelstein”. The next highlight of my weekend was getting to meet the international president, DJ Kaplan! I was so nervous to meet him but he is one of the nicest kids I met this weekend and METNY was soo lucky to have him spend the weekend with us! The third highlight of my weekend was ruach on Friday. I love being able to scream on the top of my lungs with everyone else while saying the words of my favorite ruach songs such as “Dodi Li”. The last highlight of my weekend was slow ruach and Havdalah Saturday night. While they are my favorite part of the weekend at any convention at RC they were extremely special! Being with over 400 other Jewish teens, while watching my friends close their eyes and some even crying the feeling doesn’t get any better than to see people with so much passion. During havdalah to hear the boards last candle and the sizzle of the havdalah candle it just doesn’t get any better than that. There were many more highlights of the weekend considering it was my favorite convention by far but those are just a few that stick out to me!

 

by Ellie Sheinwald, 2011-2012 METNY Communications VP
For over 400 USYers, Regional Convention 2011 in Stamford, Connecticut, was truly a great experience. The weekend was educational, fun, and showed METNY’s incredible ruach. On Friday, elections kicked off the festivities. Voting was quite a long process, but the new regional board was announced eventually. The Israel program, later in the evening, captivated USYers as they learned about how African refugees travel to Israel and how difficult a process it is. It was so exciting to re-enact the experiences that these people are going through. Between Friday and Saturday, everyone participated in two sichot. Groups analyzed the true meaning of Jewish music and the stereotypes that come along with that. As it was the educational theme for the weekend, all of the teenagers found that it was easy to relate to and share their opinions on the subject.
On Saturday night, everyone took part in the SA/TO program: a competitive game of Capture the Flag. Working together, we managed to raise over $2000. Soon after, the dance commenced and everyone showed off their coolest moves on the dance floor. The weekend ended on Sunday morning. The new regional board was installed during breakfast. Everyone shared tear-filled goodbyes and many hugs, and boarded their buses back to their chapters. This was a marvelous way to end the year with METNY USY… I am positive that next year will bring even more memories!

 

by Elan Weinberger, 2011-2012 METNY President
On May 13^th 2011, METNY USY gathered together for Regional Convention. The convention was fantastic and filled with great ruach, learning, friendships and fun! On Friday we heard great speeches given by the candidates for METNY Regional and Divisional Executive Boards. All of the speeches were fantastic and showed many great ideas and the passion that so many people have for METNY USY.
On Shabbat Afternoon, everyone learned about African refugees in Israel through the Israel Affairs program entitled “Escape from Africa.” The USYers also met each other through the game “Family Feud – USY edition!” it was awesome and helped people meet new friends.
On Saturday night, everyone played capture the flag in order to raise money for Tikkun Olam. We raised a total of about $4000! It was incredible to see so many people donate to causes that are important to them.  Everyone had fun and we saw just how much we can do to help the world!
Sunday was filled with both joy and sadness. As the seniors were discharged from USY, tears and sadness were encapsulating the room. But just as soon as the 12^th grade left USY, the 8^th graders came in making a joyous happy occasion filled with excitement for their USY years ahead of them.
Overall it was a great weekend and everyone had a lot of fun. I hope to see even more USYers at Encampment in August!