Submission #21761 by Highland Park Conservative Temple Men's Club - Highland Park, NJ (910)

I have read the 2021 Torch Awards Program Guidelines.
Club Name
Highland Park Conservative Temple Men's Club - Highland Park, NJ (910)
Roz's Daily Question
Club Representative
Person completing form
Daniel
Shifrin
Club President at time of convention if known at this time
Spencer
Brooks
Club President Now
Spencer
Brooks
COVID-19

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Roz’s Daily Question is a daily (Monday-Friday) trivia game. It is fun, challenging, and a bit educational. The game allows our Men’s Club members to keep in touch during the pandemic.

Please see the following video for information on the program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpmMfFtWBFQ&feature=youtu.be
In March 2020, COVID caused everyone to become homebound. People did not leave their houses, except for work, essential services, and food. Daniel Shifrin started his trivia game.
It was a way to keep in touch with our Men’s Club members.

Each day (Monday-Friday) betweeen 11am and 12pm, Shifrin would email a trivia question to every Men’s Club member. The first person to email Shifrin, with the correct answer, got five points. The second person to respond, with the correct answer, got three points. Everyone else, with the correct answer, got one point.

Shifrin kept score on a daily leaderboard. But everyone knew— it was just for fun.
Our Men’s Club members looked forward to playing the game. It was entertaining and
everyone enjoyed the friendly competition.

After eight months, the game came to an abrupt halt. Shifrin’s wife passed away in December 2020.

Shifrin received condolences for his wife from many of the Men’s Club members. Many of the Men’s Club members also remarked how they enjoyed his trivia game and hoped that he would eventually bring it back.

Shifrin restarted the game in February 2021. He renamed it “Roz’s Daily Question” in memory of his wife.
Attachments
Self Assessment
On the average, 26 Men’s Club members play the trivia game on a daily (Monday-Friday) basis. HPCT-CAE Men’s Club currently has 67 members. If we divide 26 by 67, this results in 38.8% or roughly 40%. This means that 40% of our Men’s Club is participating every day (Monday-Friday) in a Men’s Club event. This is pretty significant.

Below are emails received when Shifrin restarted the game in February 2021. If the comments below are any indication of the game’s impact— then we can surely conclude that the trivia game is a success!

"Dan, thank you for organizing this activity for our club. It is a wonderful tribute to Roz and I am excited to see so many of our members involved." - Spencer Brooks (Club President)
“Thanks for doing this. I hope it helps you remember your wonderful times with Roz.”- Sam Kamens
“I’m so glad to see this, and strongly applaud the game’s renaming, which is a wonderful tribute. Welcome back, you have been missed.” - Steve Polinsky
“Glad we are playing again.” - Sheldon Hochheiser
“Glad to have you back” - Ed Rockoff
“Glad to hear you’re getting back into the rhythm of life. For us this trivia game has been a real morale booster during these COVID times. Thank you.” - Kondioti Family
“Glad to hear you’ll be re-starting your trivia engines.”- Phil Schmidt
“Great. Looking forward to the contest and what a great way to pay tribute!” Nate Kean
“Welcome back. Thanks for doing this again. It is a nice distraction to our stay-at-home
existence. Also, a very nice honor for Rosalyn.” -Seth Gross
“I’m very sorry for your loss. I am thrilled that you’re starting up again. It’s my prayer that remembering Roz in this way will bring pleasure and joy to us all. Thank you for continuing this project. I personally have found it to be a great comfort and a diversion from the difficulties of the moment. I’m looking forward to continuing to play.” - Rabbi Mordecai Schwartz
raderie where our Men’s Club members compete, learn new things, and keep in touch. Consider the following members’ praise for the game:
“I enjoy the game because it is a diversion from my job. I am competitive & learn new
trivia. Keep up the good work.”- Uri Mittler
“I enjoy the game because there's usually no rhyme or reason to the questions (occasionally, a theme or pattern), there's no "prize," so no pressure, and I enjoy challenging myself but not using the computer/ internet to find the answer. Per my friend Dan, others apparently do, and also argue when they get it wrong, which amuses the hell out of me. I'm also glad that Dan has brought it back, and used it to honor his wife.” - David Cohen
“I like the challenge and the participation. And it led me to what has become a valued friendship with Dan. And now every Friday a group of us play Trivial Pursuits on zoom.” -Jerry Trub
“I enjoy the trivia game a lot because it makes me think of things I normally would not think of. In these days of the COVID it is nice to think of something else, something that is not serious or life threatening. I look forward to it.”- Bart Weinstein
“Dan has done a fantastic job in uniting our Men’s Club through a daily online trivia contest during the pandemic. It’s been fun, challenging and a bit educational, all at the same
time.” - Ira Cohen
“1. The HPCT-CAE Men's Club has found a fun and entertaining way to keep our members in touch on a daily basis during the pandemic.
2. The daily trivia questions that we receive each day keeps our brains active and our minds working.” - Michael Rosenberg
“Playing Roz’s trivia game got me to know more people in the men’s club than ever before. It is pretty amazing to actually gain friends in the middle of a pandemic but the game helped do that. Thanks Daniel for making it happen.” - Matt Hale
“My compliments to Dan Shifrin for his initiative and perseverance in implementing this challenging, interesting and entertaining activity for the HPCT-CAE Men's Club. There is no doubt that he richly deserves to be honored with the Torch award for not only conceiving the above activity but for performing all the required functions on a daily basis-formulating interesting and sometimes unusual questions and keeping score.
I am a technical guy, but I have nevertheless enjoyed the daily challenge of addressing these trivia questions. They have made me aware of many aspects of TV, movies, literature and other aspects of our everyday world. Modesty will not prevent me from saying that part of my enjoyment of this activity is because I won!
Yashakoach, Dan.” - Gene Gottlieb
I’m Daniel Shifrin. I started the trivia game in March 2020. I expected it to last two weeks. Eight months later we were still playing.
Then, in December 2020, Rosalyn, my beloved wife, died. We were married for 38 ½ years. She was my lover, my companion, and my best friend.
From the viewpoint of the participant, this game has always been a way to keep in touch.
To interact with fellow Men’s Club members and have a fun time doing it.
However, I see it from another perspective. For me the game’s objectives are two-fold:
1) The game has allowed me to honor my wife by naming it after her. It’s quite comforting to hear the kind words of my fellow Men’s Club members as they remember Roz,
2) Roz’s Daily Quiestion has provided me with a vehicle where Men’s Club members reach out to me on a daily basis. In my moment of sadness, this is exactly what I need. I am fortunate to have such a phenomenal group of Men’s Club members to help me get through my time of grief. I appreciate their kind words and truly thank them all.

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