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Pay for 2 Years, 6*'$41-'41(%*1+%' (146*15'+06*'-019 «>ÃÌiÀJ>>`ÕÌiÀ°VUÜÜÜ°*>-ÌiÀ°VUÓ{nn{äää{{ $2.00 Oct. 5-11, 2017 / 15-21 Tishrei 5778 YEARS DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY Picking Up The PACE Consultants help the Whitney and others go green with public-private funding. SEE PAGE 10 1942 2017 thejewishnews.com Offer applies to in-state subscriptions only. This offer is only valid during the month of November. Can be used for new subscriptions or renewals. We WILL NOT issue refunds for previously purchased subscriptions. Call to Subscribe: 248-351-5120 Get a 3rd Free! 2142040 B I R M I N G H A M #1 Kids Martial Arts Program Kids Karate NOW ENROLLING 2219 Cole Street Birmingam MI 48009 www.bmartialarts.com 248 646-6608 18 November 16 • 2017 jn A s twins, Rachel and Noah Meyerson of Farmington Hills keep no secrets and look to one another to finish sen- tences. It is this synchronicity and their commitment to keeping BBYO Michigan going strong for their Jewish peers that inspired them to run and get elected as co-presidents in May. Noah and Rachel, both 17, are already reaching out to their classmates at North Farmington High School and also Jewish kids in Petoskey and Windsor desiring to start chapters. Outside their BBYO responsibili- ties, the duo also works — Rachel at a dental office in Livonia and Noah as a youth inline hockey coach at the JCC in West Bloomfield — in addition to a senior workload and extra-curricular activities. So, when pressure mounts or when problems need solving, it's good to know your co-president lives in the bedroom right across the hallway. "We have opposite skill sets that keep each other in balance," said Rachel, who belongs to Ahavah BBG. "It's true," Noah said, a member of Fisher AZA. "While she is the creative side, I am more the organizational and logistical side. We look to each other for great programing ideas and how to best manage our time." The Meyersons' love for BBYO started when they were living in California and their older sister Marisa — now a senior at Michigan State University — held chapter meetings at their house. "I remember BBYO teens in our house all the time because she was chapter president," Rachel said. "She'd come into my bedroom at night and teach me all these songs and cheers. I was hooked and couldn't wait until I was old enough to join." The twins moved to Michigan in the sixth grade and became involved with BBYO at the middle school level. After becoming a bar mitzvah, Noah said he "stepped back from Judaism a bit" to focus on travel hockey, but by eighth grade his focus has been on BBYO and "rees- tablishing" his Jewish identity. He proudly wears a large chai around his neck and says he enjoys attending BBYO Shabbat dinners and programming by Rabbi Yarden Blumstein, teen director at the Friendship Circle in West Bloomfield. The twins honed their leadership skills over the years at the chapter level, serving in fundraising, sec- retarial and other positions. When it came time to run for regional president at Regional Conference at Tamarack in May, they did not run unopposed. "The election process was long and got pretty intense," Noah said. "We really didn't know what was going to happen, but as soon as we found out, we called home to our mom to tell her we won!" The twins take their co-presidency very seriously. They plan programs and learn to work with the chapter presidents. They must also prepare speeches and presentations to report as teen reps to BBYO com- missioners at the national level. There are weekly meetings to review and plan programming with Katie Fried, regional director. The daily car ride to school builds in time to resolve problems and bounce ideas off one another. "Rachel and Noah have this unique and mature ability to work together in a way that is both honest and constructive, and that is incred- ible and rare," Fried said. "The other kids in BBYO respond to them so well because of that honesty. They really know how to see issues from a big picture and not get stuck on minor setbacks. Working with them so far this year has been an incred- ible experience." • ABOVE: BBYO Michigan co-presidents Rachel and Noah Meyerson. STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER jews d in the Dynamic Duo Meyerson twins committed to leading a strong BBYO.