The 2025 Gala was a roaring SOLD OUT success for the second year! We couldn’t do it without worthy honorees, generous sponsors, a hard working gala committee and a devoted kehilah! Please look for a special wind up gala email with links to pics and videos. Mazal tov again to our honorees, Eileen Regen, and Alice & Leslie Dreier!

Speech Honoring Alice and Leslie Dreier by Dave Goldstone

Just a couple of words about two of our guests of honor Alice and Leslie Dreier. I believe I met them through my parents Abe & Harriet, who spent their retirement years at their cottage on Strawberry Hill Street when Mort Fisch and then Mucho Solomon were presiding over the Synagogue Board.

Mort, Mucho, and Leslie and Alice were also the pioneers of transforming BHC from simply a summer shul to a year round Jewish community. I remember whenever I visited my parents at the Buckeye Cottage there would always be a bag filled with oatmeal on the table which they purchased from “The New Magoon’s” a health and gourmet food store that Leslie and Alice had opened in Littleton.

Over the years I discovered that Leslie and I had a few things in common. We both had experiences working in restaurants and resort hotels in Bethlehem NH and Florida. In Leslie’s case it was his grandfather’s family businesses , the Mayflower In Palm Beach and the Maplewood Hotel in Bethlehem and Leslie and Alice had a successful restaurant business in Miami. We both loved hiking in the White Mountains although I have only conquered maybe a quarter of the 48 four thousand footers in NH. Leslie has conquered them all and them some!. The third trait that we seem to share is our devotion to Judaism. Here at BHC Leslie became a student of Judaism with Dr. Fred Weiser and later on as a teacher of the children of our congregants. Leslie served as President of BHC in 2001 and has been our on call gabbai.

I have read Alice’s many interviews over the years, many of them collected n our 90th Anniversary Celebration Bulletin (assembled by our 1st honoree, Eileen Regen) as well as Annie Hoyer’s wonderful interview with Alice in last weeks Shul News. As BHC president and board chair I have sat across the table at Board Meetings with Alice, who kept the meeting in line by reminding us of our By-laws and “Roberts Rules of Order” while reminding us all of the importance of outreach to the whole North Country community - coat drives as winter approached and many “BHC Gives” programs for those in need. We have all sampled the delicious soups and stews which she served at all our Temple functions, as well as her artistic creations in painting, decorating and flower arrangements that adorn our sanctuary.

Read the entire speech here

Speech Honoring Eileen Regen by Gail Robinson and Martin Kessel

Good evening everyone,

It’s an absolute honor to stand before you tonight to celebrate and pay tribute to a remarkable woman—Eileen Regen.

About two years ago, when Eileen approached the BHC Board and asked to step back from her many responsibilities, we knew replacing her wouldn't be easy. In fact, it took a whole committee—chaired by yours truly—to even begin to fill her shoes. And what we quickly discovered was this: it wasn’t going to take just a person to replace Eileen—it was going to take several.

Eileen has been the heartbeat of BHC for over two decades. When Sid and Eileen joined BHC in 2002, she immediately became involved—and not just with one or two roles. Eileen took on a whole constellation of responsibilities. Let me give you just a sample…

She was in charge of publicity, hospitality, and served as recording secretary for the Board. She managed all our mailing lists—both email and snail mail—and edited the beloved BHC Star Newsletter. She collected the names for the annual Yizkor Booklet, a solemn and meaningful task, and she read those names aloud each Yom Kippur.

She taught at the Bet Sefer with Bernice Dinner and—perhaps with the most flair of all—took it upon herself to go from business to business in Littleton and Bethlehem, gathering advertisements for our summer activities booklet. Eileen affectionately called this her “street walking”—and let me tell you, it was one of our most successful fundraising endeavors.

Eileen and Sid didn’t just support the BHC community—they opened their home to it. Many of us here have shared in their hospitality for Erev Shabbat dinners and holidays like Pesach and Rosh Hashanah.

Read the entire speech here.