ESB Spotlight – Alan B.

October 30, 2019

Get to know one of ESB’s Board Members, Alan Berkowitz!

What are a few of your fondest memories of ESB?
The people. It is basically all of the people that I’ve met here over the years, who are really special!

You’ve been a dedicated Board Member (ESB family member) for 28 years. How did you originally become involved with Eastern Savings Bank?
28 years!!! I’ve been on the Board since Harold (Goldsmith) passed away in 1991. I first learned of ESB when Harold bought the Bank from David Daneker and his family. I had been Harold’s accountant and friend for many years before he purchased ESB.

I’ve also known the Bank’s President, Yaakov Neuberger, for almost as long as he was a lawyer for Merry Go Round, which Harold also owned. That’s how I first met Yaakov, and we’ve been friends ever since!

Your generation has witnessed many changes in the world, including shifts in culture, technology, medicine and social norms. What advice do you have for the millennial generation?
The advice I have for millennials is that they should be their own person, follow their dreams and do what makes them happy, as much as possible.

Name three things still left on your bucket list.
I used to have a bucket list that included traveling, etc., but now I have a different mindset about it. What does a bucket list even mean? I just simply want 15 more years of good health.

This year, Eastern Savings Bank Associates participated in writing a total of over 600 notes of encouragement to local students in support of the Baltimore Hunger Project. Tell us more about the Baltimore Hunger Project (“BHP”)! How did you become involved with BHP?
Baltimore Hunger Project (BHP) started in my daughter Lynne’s garage. Once a month, she and a group of her friends would gather to make 250 sandwiches for two women and children homeless shelters. She would have 30-40 people come and form an assembly line to make the bagged lunches. After nine years they outgrew that, and she decided she wanted to do something different, something much bigger, so she started Baltimore Hunger Project. The program is designed to serve take-home weekend meals to food insecure school children.

She began with supporting 30 food insecure children in 2 Baltimore City schools. She worked out of a rent-free facility, located on Charles Street. Now in their fifth year, she provides over 600 weekend food packages a week, has a warehouse with a loading dock, and volunteer’s delivery every Friday to 23 Baltimore County and City schools. The food bags are discreetly placed in the kids’ backpacks by the school guidance counselors to make sure they have enough food for the weekend. It is so very special what she does. You can find more information about BHP at: baltimorehungerproject.org

Who inspires you?
My greatest inspiration is my wife, Karen.

Do you have any hobbies?
I love reading (spy novels), football and tailgating (Go Ravens!) and baseball.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Baltimore, on Fairmount Ave. and Chester St., near Patterson Park. We had those renowned Baltimorean white marble stoops and we played
stickball with a broom handle!

What are you most proud of (your life’s biggest achievements)?
My children and the values they have passed down to their children, which are my 8 grandchildren, whom are very special to me. They now range from ages 12 – 20, 3 of whom are in college now!

What do you do in your spare time?
I love to golf and travel, and make it a goal to take power naps every day. I am also very family-oriented. While I have no siblings, I still have a very large family of 16, and all of us go away on trips every year (usually skiing, but we also go to the beach). For my birthday this year, we are going to Zurich and taking a river cruise (Rhine) that ends in Amsterdam.

What are you passionate about?
Life – everything about it!