All twenty of us were just starting high school in 1957 when we joined the Harry C. Resnick AZA Chapter of BBYO at the Jewish Community Center in Louisville, Kentucky. We graduated high school in 1960. After graduation, many of us stayed in close contact. In 1997, some other Resnick AZA alumni from different years got together and discussed the idea of inviting all the past Resnick AZA chapters to join for a big reunion in Louisville to honor our chapter advisor, Charles L. Weisberg. Many of the boys (now men) shared that he was “like a second father to them.” The result was a wonderful reunion held at our Jewish Community Center in Louisville to honor Charles Weisberg. The JCC was our home away from home. Other AZA & BBG chapters, as well as other independent boys' and girls' clubs, met weekly at the Jewish Community Center, which was the true hub of Jewish activities in Louisville, Kentucky.

Past Resnick AZA alumni came from all over the United States. There were 128 attendees from the East Coast to the West Coast who attended the gala event. We published a booklet showing everyone’s high school graduation photo plus facts about them at the time. We had several events, including our Friendship Circle, that were enjoyed immensely by the entire group; it was a fabulous weekend of renewing old friendships. Approximately a year later, our Resnick AZA, Class of 1960, decided to have its own reunion in Louisville at our home, the Jewish Community Center. We set a date, contacted our brother Alephs, and everyone came to the reunion. Our group has several doctors, psychologists, lawyers, and businesspeople. 

The psychologists helped plan our first meeting, which was held in the Boardroom, graciously offered for our use by our Trager Family JCC. We immediately pushed the large rectangular tables against the wall, leaving a large open space in the center. We created our Friendship Circle with 20 chairs—one for each of us. There was nothing in between us, physically or mentally. Physically, we could see each other with no obstructions in between. Mentally, we had all known each other so well as kids and young teenagers. Therefore, there were no airs to put on because we knew each other so well. In addition, it was quite unique that each of us actually knew each other’s parents—both their mothers and fathers. In many cases, we even knew grandparents.

THE RULES OF OUR FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE:
1. We all agreed to speak openly about our lives after graduation from high school, our college years, getting married (or divorced), halving and raising our children, our life’s work and our hobbies.

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2. “Everything said in the room stays in the room”—Jewish Honor!

It took almost the entire day for 20 guys to go through and open up their lives to all their old buddies. There were times we had great laughs and times we shed tears. But everything stayed within the room. Over the years, this has created a rock-solid bond between each of us. It’s a wonderful feeling to be so close to people you’ve known for over 67 years.

In retrospect, we have had about six or seven reunions. We started off having them once every five years and, more recently, have chosen to meet every two years. Our most recent reunion was held in Louisville on September 14th and 15th of 2024. Here was our agenda:

Our brother Alephs flew to Louisville from all parts of the country—California, Washington state, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky. We all met for a Welcome Dinner on Thursday evening. We kibbitzed a lot. On Friday morning, we had breakfast brought to the JCC and started the first of four sessions included in our reunion, with each session lasting approximately three hours.

The first session was our Friendship Circle. Out of the initial 20 boys, there are now only 12 men left; eight of the 20 have passed away over the years. However, we still put 20 chairs in our circle. We have framed a photograph of each of our brother Alephs who has passed away and place each framed photograph on its own chair. This way, we can look at them and remember them, feeling their presence in the room. It is a way of having them with us.

We adjourned for lunch at a nice restaurant and came back to the Boardroom. Our second session was led by one of our physician brothers. The subject was “Aging,” a very appropriate subject for a group of 82-year-olds. Each of us has our own medical issues, and it was a great help to learn what we should be doing to maintain a healthier, longer life and what not to do for our health. We then broke for dinner together, ending our first day.

The next morning, we had breakfast at the JCC and started our third session. One of our brother Alephs, a seasoned psychologist, led a discussion on topics of aging. We found many common challenges that we all face and discussed various ways of coping with them. This stirred active participation from everyone, and valuable lessons were learned by all. We then broke for another lunch.

In the fourth session, we had arranged for a past Resnick member who was three years younger than us to speak. Jerry Abramson, a Resnick AZA Chapter member from the Class of 1963, shared his experiences. He spoke about his days in Resnick AZA and how he became a lawyer who was elected Mayor of Louisville and served for 21 years. He also became Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky and later served as a Special Assistant in the Obama Administration, dealing with mayors across our nation. It was definitely a fun-filled afternoon for everyone as he shared several experiences from his many years of public service. This was a perfect ending to our sessions together. We then broke for dinner at a great restaurant.

The next morning, we had our Goodbye Breakfast, and everyone flew home. It was a wonderful weekend, and we all pledged to be there two years from now.

PS - During COVID, we could not meet physically, but we were introduced to a new concept of Zooming. We started during the pandemic and now have a Zoom conference call once a month (that’s 12 times a year). With modern technology, we were able to see each other and talk without traveling. It has worked out beautifully, and no one ever misses a reunion!