FJMC honors Jason Stern at VBS on Sunday, Aug 7 at 8:30 a.m.

An up and coming leader at Valley Beth Shalom, Jason was born in November, 1963 in North Bend Oregon. He moved to Southern California when he was 6 months old, but let his parents do the driving. He went to Venice high Class of 81, L.A. Trade Tech, College of the Canyons in Valencia and attended UCLA for Aerospace related quality courses. Jason has spent 30 years in the aerospace industry, and his current position is Quality Assurance Manager. Jason and his wife Linda were married at VBS by Rabbi Ed Feinstein, and have two daughters Eliyah and Samara both attending religious school at Valley Beth Shalom.

In conjunction with Rabbi Hoffman, Jason transformed a small group of young Jewish men who gathered at VBS for weekly pick-up basketball games into a vibrant organization of over 50 active members. Initial involvement with the FJMC started with organizing this “Brotherhood” as an integral part of VBS programming with the help of current men’s club president Joe Helfer. This two-pronged effort, with the Brotherhood having its own programming and branding and the traditional Men’s club operating in parallel and sometimes in concert for joint events has been recognized as a prototype for addressing one of the most vexing issues in Conservative Judaism and the FJMC: how do we engage young men and change the stereotype of the FJMC as an “old men’s organization”. Jason and his team have developed a full suite of exciting events encompassing chevra, spiritual and wellness activities that continue to engage new participants and grow the Brotherhood as a key component of the VBS community. Jason recently attended a leadership development institute put on by the FJMC and attended his first FJMC convention this past July and plan on helping with the next LDI.