Coming Full Circle
Greg Bluestein was about 12 years old when the Atlanta JCC’s Centerline publication featured him in an article. The local fame led him to understand the power of the press. “That always stuck with me and instilled the importance of chronicling what’s going on in your community,” Greg, now 39, shares. Aptly, Greg pursued a career in journalism, working for The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, and now The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he’s been a political reporter for the last decade. And his JCC experiences remain intricately woven in his life.
Growing up, Greg would bike to the JCC and spend countless hours participating in sports, BBYO, and more. “The JCC is a fundamental part of who I am,” he relays. He and his wife Sheryl, and daughters Nicole, 11 and Brooke, 8, are a “constant presence at the MJCCA,” and love being part of athletics, after-school at Club J, drama, swimming, Shabbat celebrations, and more, Greg explains. “It’s pivotal in our family infrastructure.”
Greg spent 10 amazing summers at the MJCCA’s Camp Barney Medintz. Sheryl enjoyed four years there, and now their girls are following suit. “CBM was an instrumental part of our lives and now it’s becoming part of theirs,” he says. “It’s so neat seeing my kids have the same experiences I did. The MJCCA is giving them a sense of community, and it’s a community I’ve always relied on.”
Just as his family’s MJCCA engagement has come full circle, Greg’s professional life soon will too. Moderating a program at the Book Festival of the MJCCA was a career highlight. “I got to interview Dan Rather in front of 1,000 of my closest friends, in the place where I grew up. What a cool moment.” In what may prove to be an even cooler moment, Greg will occupy that same stage during the 2022 Book Festival – this time as an author at the launch of his own book, Flipped, about the 2020 Presidential and Georgia Senate races.
“It’s a dream come true. I’ve been in the audience at the Book Festival for years. To attend as an author and speak to my community, people who have shaped me, will be amazing. I insisted that the MJCCA host the launch. Where else would I want to be? The MJCCA is the beating heart of our community.”
The MJCCA is the beating heart of our community.