Rick Wronzberg - Ansh-eh Zafon

Rick Wronzberg was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  He had his bar mitzvah at the Hebrew Men of England Synagogue (amalgamated in 1975 with Beth Emeth Synagogue in Toronto).  Rick attended Northview Heights Secondary School and played soccer, was a member of the swim team, and coordinated intramural sports and related programs. 
While in high school he found his passion volunteering at the local Y.M. & Y.W.H.A. - Northern Branch ("Northern Y") where he was a volunteer lifeguard and swim instructor from age of 13 through 19.  At the age of 17, while lifeguarding, he met a young girl named Debbie Greenfield who was hanging out at the pool.  They dated, and married five years later, in 1978, at the Beth David Synagogue in Toronto.  They settled, and remain, in Vaughan, Ontario - a part of the greater Toronto area. 

Rick attended York University in Toronto and received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.  He then earned his Chartered Accountant license (CPA) with the accounting firm Deloitte, Haskins and Sells.  After obtaining his professional accounting designation, Rick went to work in various industries, including 14 years as controller for a large gold jewelery manufacturer.  In 2011 he returned to public accounting and is currently working with WRZ LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants. 

Debbie and Rick had two girls, Alexis and Danielle.  Sadly, Alexis ז״ל‎ passed away at age of 27 from leukemia in 2010.  Danielle and her husband Dean Jacobson live nearby in Vaughan with their 2 young children. 

While saying Kaddish for his daughter Alexis ז״ל‎ at Beth David Synagogue, Rick met Stan Greenspan who convinced Rick to get involved in helping to rejuvenate the men’s club and help attract younger men.  Two years later Rick was club president.  While still being an active member of the Beth David Men's Club, he then became involved with FJMC's Lake Ontario Region (now Ansh-eh Zafon Region).  He was elected Regional President in 2017, and continues to be actively involved at all levels in both the Club and Region - including the Region's annual retreats and its other programs.  

Rick was responsible for coordinating the planning and running of the local programming events for the 2019 FJMC Convention in Toronto.  He was then appointed co-chair of the 2021 FJMC Virtual/Chicago Convention.  Rick is the Chair of the 2023 FJMC Bi-annual Convention in Philadelphia. 

Along with helping to create, play, referee, and coordinate the operations of a ten team Men’s Floor Hockey League since 1975 at the Northern Y,  his true passion happens every September.  Since the inception in 2011 of the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation's Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer, he brought together friends and family to form Team Lex in memory of his daughter Alexis ז״ל‎.  As one of the original 11 teams that have played since inception (130 teams play each year), Team Lex has raised over $375,000 to "help conquer cancer in our lifetime".