This past Monday I attended a special event in Union, New Jersey, at the headquarters of MORRE-TEC Industries where together with MORRE-TEC president and founder Len Glass, his wife Estelle, and the extended Glass family, a brand-new Magen David Adom ambulance was dedicated in honor of MORRE-TEC’s employees.
I have known the Glass family from Teaneck and Bergenfield for many years now and have always been impressed by Len and Estelle and all of their children. In fact, the company name MORRE-TEC is an acronym for the first letters of each of his children’s names and that of his wife (Michael, Ozi, Rina, Rachel and Estelle).
As I was pulling into the event, I fondly recalled my last visit to Union nearly two years ago where I had the opportunity to meet with Len and his leadership team, which also included sons-in-law and senior company leaders Mo Fuchs and Aaron Kopstick and other company leaders. After our meeting, Len personally took me around the facility and taught me so much about how MORRE-TEC’s products, ranging from ingredients, bromine compounds, vitamins, specialty chemicals and much more, are all produced and kept to the highest standards of kashrut (for those going into food products, that is).
Len knew every square foot of his facility and every employee and had a great story to tell me about every piece of equipment and section of the building. It was clear to me from our two hours together that Len loved what he did every day, loved his company and employees, and loved his business like a family. It made a powerful impression upon me and stays with me today. So when I was invited to participate in the ambulance dedication, I was more than happy to attend.
When I arrived, all of MORRE-TEC’s approximately 30 or so employees were taking group pictures in front of the brand-new white ambulance and it was clear that this was a group that enjoyed working together and being together on a daily basis.
The program, which included a beautiful light dinner in a spacious tent in the company parking lot and was attended by multiple tables of Glass family members and close family friends, was emceed by Len’s oldest son, Dr. Ozi (Alan) Glass. He cracked a few jokes, noted that the ambulance donation was not his parents’ first one and how happy he was to be able to welcome everyone to this day. He introduced Rabbi Mordechai Kanelsky of Bris Avrohom who is based nearby in Hillside and is close with the Glass family. Rabbi Kanelsky began with a perek of Tehillim and he noted that “Estelle and Lenny (Glass) are pillars of the community…and there isn’t anything in the community with which they are not involved.” He compared the act of donating an ambulance as akin to saving lives literally and asked that Hashem grant the Glass family only good health in the merit of this ambulance donation.
Rabbi Kanelsky then introduced the sheriff of Union County, Peter Corvelli, to speak. Sheriff Corvelli noted briefly that his good friend Rabbi Kanelsky talked about protecting lives with the ambulance but he felt that the ambulance would actually save lives when it gets to Israel, and not just protect lives. He invited those present to be in touch with him and his office if they ever need anything.
After the sheriff spoke, Len’s son Michael Glass, a company senior vice president, spoke about his growing up and learning about bromine compounds, watching his father and tagging along for business trips to Israel. “This particular event touches me personally,” Michael noted, “…as our family has a special connection to Israel and we all feel very close to the country…and this falls perfectly in line with the values that our parents have instilled in us as a family.”
He then introduced Laurie Bandremer, the associate director, northeast region, of American Friends of Magen David Adom (AFMDA), who explained that nearly 80% of AFMDA’s ambulances and medicycles are donated from the U.S. She also noted that the pandemic had caused a slowdown in ambulance production and delayed this ambulance’s production and that it would take about six to eight months to get to Israel and be fully operational. She then presented Len and Estelle with an award from AFMDA in honor of their generosity.
The program was capped off by Len himself, who noted that this ambulance was the second ambulance that has had a significant impact upon him in the past two months, as he suffered a mini-stroke in April and his life was saved by Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corp (TVAC) members and by his doctors at Englewood Hospital. He expressed his deep appreciation to all who helped him and was especially proud to introduce his speech therapist who has worked with him to strengthen and improve his speech. I was quite amazed at how strong Len looked and how clearly he spoke, only a few short months after the stroke. (Keep it up, Len!)
After thanking God, Len also expressed thanks for being able to be there and explained that his wife Estelle had told him that the theme of his remarks should be to “give thanks!” He noted the many challenges in building MORRE-TEC and called last year’s COVID pandemic a “crazy year,” but “thanks to our hardworking dedicated staff, we were able to function every single day during the pandemic and continue to operate… Our commitment has always been to give back to the community and to those who can benefit from our resources, products and our successes… It is a great honor for MORRE-TEC to donate this ambulance to Magen David Adom. We thank you for the opportunity to make this world a better place.”
He concluded the program by presenting a special bouquet of flowers to his wife Estelle and thanked her for her tolerance and support over the many years. He ended by saying that there would be no MORRE-TEC without the “E” for Estelle.
After Len’s presentation, MORRE-TEC president Paul Caskey and CFO Aaron Kopstick presented a number of awards to standout staff members. A video about MORRE-TEC concluded the program.
I left looking forward to more Glass family and MORRE-TEC events in the future.
