From December 20-23, 40 members of Louisville BBYO attended Kentucky-Indiana-Ohio (KIO) BBYO’s Annual Regional Convention, which included the election of the 60th KIO Regional Board States, a showcase of lives of the 59th Regional Board, the Regional Banquet, ice skating and many other fun and informative programs.
Natania Lipp and Maggie Rosen as the outgoing shlicha (vice president of Jewish heritage, community service and social action) and morah (vice president of membership) gave a report to the region about their accomplishments during the past year during their “state” speeches (state of the union addresses) and told the region about all of their experiences in BBYO during their lives (a ceremony to commemorate their lives in BBYO).
During the banquet, Louisville BBYO won many awards. Jacob Finke was named mazkir (vice president of communications) of the year, Audrey Nussbaum was named mazkirah (vice president of communications) of the year, Jesse Hymes was named s’ganit (vice president of programming) of the year, Eli Gould was named godol (president) of the year and Jay Levine BBG was named chapter of the year.
Also, during this convention, BBYOers learned about the Unified for Uganda, is a student run organization, currently only in Cincinnati, that raises money to benefit students in Uganda. During the presentation, the convention body skyped with a college graduate from Uganda to learn his story and see firsthand what they could be doing to help children there. Many Louisville Teens expressed interest in starting a Unified for Uganda Club at their schools.
Many Louisville teens were involved in the planning and coordination of this convention. Rachel Bass served as coordinator and Daniela Reuter and Jessie Hymes served on the steering committee.