Mark Bloomberg and his wife Shari, who live in Elizabeth, joined the YM-YWHA of Union County in 1999. Three children later, with their involvement in the community extended in many directions, he has become the Union Y's 44th president.

Bloomberg, an elder law attorney, sees the challenge ahead as one of both maintenance and growth.

"We have incredible services for the very young and the very old; we provide hot meals for the elderly and all kinds of child care, and I want to shore up the good work that we do," he said. "I'd also like to develop the opportunities for socialization that we offer [for] those in between, and to continue our outreach to the community as a whole."

He might be a lot taller than his predecessor Linda Ershow-Levenberg, but she left big shoes to fill. As an outgoing gesture, she, together with her husband David and his father Herb — both also past Y presidents — and their extended family financed the renovation of the land behind the Y building. Now officially known as the Levenberg Picnic Grounds, it provides summer campers and weekend visitors of all ages with a green and shady place to relax.

Looking back on her two-year term at the annual general meeting last month, Ershow-Levenberg outlined the accomplishments of which she was most proud.

Topping her list was completion of a financial arrangement between the Y and the Jewish Community Endowment Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey. By making the Y's endowment a distinct restricted fund of the federation foundation, the move brought lower management costs and the enhanced security of being part of a larger entity.

Ershow-Levenberg also cited:

• the substantial increase in the organization's liability insurance coverage, attained with a substantial decrease in cost;

• the adoption of spending principles that govern the Y's endowment;

• the design of new health plan choices to help control escalating premium costs;

• the expansion of music and lecture programs;

• the 2007 updates of the agency's personnel codes; and

• the development of a new generation of dedicated donors for the Y's ongoing capital and program projects.

Ershow-Levenberg's four children have been Y participants since their nursery school days, and two are serving as camp counselors this summer. She encouraged the Y to develop and expand its staff and its programming, and she expressed confidence that the community will support the agency and that membership will continue to increase.

Ershow-Levenberg, accompanied by Y executive director
Bryan Fox, presents the President's Award to Roanna Pascher.

The Y's executive director, Bryan Fox, thanked Ershow-Levenberg for her strong support and dedication. He presented her with a sterling silver and wood hallah board as a token of the Y's appreciation. He also spoke about the dedication of the staff and thanked them for their important contributions.

The Abe Izak President's Award, given by the president to a member who has made "outstanding contributions to the continuing vitality" of the Y, was presented this year to Roanna Pascher of Elizabeth. She received the award for her role as chair of the early childhood committee and for her involvement with the finance and executive committees.

Pascher, who is married with three young children and works full time as a certified public accountant, was honored for her willingness to take on so many volunteer jobs. She is also active in the young leadership activities of the Central federation. Aptly and to the delight of her audience, Pascher gave a quick thank you as she rounded up one of her children who came to the meeting with her.