The story of Susan and Ed Kochman started 60 years ago when they were in the same Confirmation Class in Philadelphia. Ed asked Susan to go to a school play with him, and the rest is history. They married 4 years later. The following year, their son Richard was born. Richard met his wife after he graduated from college and together they have given Susan and Ed the greatest gift of their lives, their two grandchildren. Jordan is now 26 and Julia is 24. They all live in the Maryland/DC area.
Susan and Ed have always believed in belonging to a synagogue and becoming active. They started a Young Marrieds Group at the synagogue where they both went to Hebrew School, were Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and were Confirmed and got married. When Richard was ready for nursery school, they joined a nearby temple where he attended.
When Richard was 10 years old, they moved from their first house in Merion, PA to Haverford, PA. It was simple to decide which synagogue to join. They just asked where the conservative synagogue carpools were going, thus starting an affiliation that lasted 25 years at Suburban Jewish Community Center-Bnai Aaron. Ed and Susan were both very active there. Susan was the Membership Chairman for several years and served on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. During her summers off from the Philadelphia Board of Ed, she volunteered in the office. Would it surprise you to know that one of her responsibilities with Ed (who used vacation time) was doing the seating for the High Holidays? Ed also threw himself into synagogue life despite often working 10 hours a day. He was the Men’s Club President, Retention Chairman (a similar responsibility to TTE’s Financial Secretary), a Board Member, and an Executive Committee member as well. In 1990 he was their Men’s Club Man of the Year. In 1993 he was the recipient of SJCC’s prestigious Josh Berry Award for Service, Achievement, and Devotion to his Men’s Club, Congregation, and Community.
Ed and Susan were also on the board of the local Civic Association. Ed served as its VP, was Chairman of the Haverford Township Planning Commission and Chairman of the County Children and Youth Services Advisory Board. He was also recognized by the Township Commissioners for his Service to the Community.
From his early days in the record business, Ed always had a dedication to children. It was a reason why he got involved with the PBSO Volunteer Missing and Exploited Children Child ID Unit. To this day, one of his proudest moments was when, as Chairman of the Delaware County (PA) Children and Youth Services Advisory Board, he created a self-perpetuating scholarship fund for children in foster care who were aging out of the system and had a desire to either attend college or a trade school but had no funding available. He convinced the County Court System to “adopt”CYS by offering jurors the opportunity to donate their Jury Duty pay to CYS. The first month they raised ten thousand dollars, and it grew and grew. Susan and Ed also were co-founders of a township scholarship fund for children of Haverford Township Volunteer Firefighters – long before the events of 911.
Ed was also involved with the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, Middle Atlantic Region. He worked his way through various board positions, eventually becoming Regional President from 1992 through 1994. He is now the Regional President for the Florida Region, thus making him the first man in FJMC history to have served as President of two distinct geographic regions.
Ed has been volunteering most of his adult life giving back to the community in a variety of ways not the least of which was his almost ten years with PBSO as a volunteer. He was awarded Volunteer of the year, Captain of the Year, Major of the Year, and the most prestigious PBSO ABCD Award (Above and Beyond the Call of Duty) for assisting an elderly woman in distress in a shopping center parking lot. He retired from PBSO as a LT Colonel – Adjutant and no longer has his take home patrol car in the driveway.
While living in PA, Ed also served as President of his Local B’nai B’rith Lodge, President of his Condo Association, Director of the Del Val Chapter of RIMS (Risk Insurance Management Society), Chairman of the ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) Government Affairs Council for PA/NJ/DE, a director for SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management), mentored Wharton Real Estate MBA Candidates and was an annual guest speaker at the school.
After the record business writing/producing/managing, Ed put his education to use and had an illustrious career in the shopping center industry as the Director of Asset Management, Interim CFO, and then retired as Executive VP of the publicly traded REIT that he had been employed by for most of his career at the ripe old age of 57. He shared his expertise and was involved with several industry organizations as mentioned previously.
Ed and Susan joined Temple Torat Emet during the first year of Covid in 2020. They found a home there after meeting so many friendly, kind and caring members. Rabbi Klein made them feel so welcome that there was no question where they would join. Ed immediately joined the Men’s Club and got involved. He now serves on the Executive Committee of the Temple as Financial Secretary. Susan joined Sisterhood and now serves as a board member and chairs their JNF Tree and Certificate program. She helps in the office and is one of their proofreaders. She also serves on the Membership Committee. As you know, for the last two years, they have done the Seating and Tickets for the High Holidays.
Susan and Ed truly enjoy being involved at Temple Torat Emet and plan to continue well into the future. They sincerely appreciate the honor they have been given this day and are humbled by it.
The Florida Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC) extends a hearty Yasher Koach and Kol HaKavod to Susan and Ed Kochman on this well deserved honor as Temple Torat Emet’s Chattan Bereisheit for Simchat Torah 5785. We serve the needs of affiliated Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods throughout the State of Florida. Learn more about the FJMC Florida Region and our growing network of Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods at: www.floridaregionfjmc.org and please visit & LIKE our Facebook Group at: www.facebook.com/FloridaRegionFJMC.
The FJMC is a confederation of over 200 Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods representing over 20,000 members across the United States, Canada, Latin America, and beyond. Learn how YOUR Jewish Men’s Club or Brotherhood can affiliate with the FJMC at: https://fjmc.org/for-clubs/affiliating-with-the-fjmc/.
About Post Author
