January and February 2017 Menschen of the Month

Posted on January 5, 2017

Our Menschen for January and February are such a good team that we’re teaming them up in this article.

Melissa Pyle and Shari Miller recently co-chaired the Roswell Tribute Event, the lovely weekend expressing our community’s appreciation for Betty and Arthur Roswell. The event was a success in every way. You can see some of the photos from the event on pages 6-7. Not only was the event successful, the team behind it worked together exceptionally well thanks to the leadership and partnership of Melissa and Shari. Kudos, ladies, for a job well done.

But what were they doing before they teamed up for the Roswell Tribute Committee, you ask? Lots of things, it turns out.

Melissa, the January Mensch of the Month, and her husband Stuart, have been members of the Temple Beth-El community for nearly 18 years. All three of their kids, Jared (26), Adam (23) and Elyse (20), grew up at temple and became b’nei mitzvah and confirmands. Now that her kids are older, she’s taking advantage of more of the temple educational offerings, like Adult Hebrew, Mussar and yoga. And Melissa describes her trip to Israel with the temple as a phenomenal experience.

Currently serving on the Board of Trustees and as the chair of the Religious School Committee, Melissa has also served on the Religious School Committee for several years and is a member of Sisterhood. She also enjoys volunteering at the TBE food booth at the 4-H Fair, Mitzvah Day and other activities. Many years ago, she served on the Early Childhood Education Committee and even taught preschool here when the temple had its own preschool. She now teaches at The Preschool Place at Temple Sholom in Bridgewater.

Shari Miller, our February Mensch of the Month, has a similar temple story. She and her husband Leigh have been members of the temple for about 18 years. Their two children, Randy (21) and Alexa (17), also became b’nei mitzvah and confirmands here. Even though Alexa is still in high school, and Leigh is on the Executive Committee, Shari finds her own opportunities to contribute. Prior to co-chairing the Roswell Tribute Weekend, Shari served on the committee planning the Rabbi’s Jubilee last spring. She also served on the Search Committee and was one of the first TBE folks to meet Rachel Frish, our new Director of Youth Engagement.

Like Melissa, Shari was on the Religious School Committee for many years and is a regular at the TBE food booth at the 4-H fair. In her free time, Shari is a volunteer tax counselor and trainer for the Tax-Aide program, which provides free income tax services to the community. She enjoys travel, hiking, skiing, biking…and cooking.

With so much in common, and a good friendship as well, it’s no surprise that these two hard-working, dedicated women worked together so beautifully on the Roswell Tribute event. Congratulations Melissa and Shari. And thanks for all you do!

Originally published in the January-February 2017 issue of the Shofar. For more issues of the Shofar, visit the Shofar archives