It’s again my honor to become your President for another year.  Let me assure you that I will do my best to help this Congregation continue to thrive.  I know that we will not always agree, there isn’t a family anywhere that does, and that’s to be expected.  The Board will always work to do what’s best.

Our Board sustained a big loss this year with Rhoda Rubin’s passing.  She was the administrator since the Temple’s inception.  Mitch Siegel and Jeff Overman helped me fill the gap.  I know Sandy Shapiro will be a very efficient administrator.  We have worked to streamline some of what Rhoda was doing and to reduce some of the redundancies in our systems.

I want to thank the outgoing Board for its hard work.  Thank you to Carol Liff for her many years on our Board.  We had a very cohesive Board, and everyone worked well together.  I’m hopeful that will continue into the next year.  I welcome the new board members and look forward to working with you.  Thank you for stepping up.

Thanks to Mitch Siegel for his committee’s work in studying the “Imagine Oseh Shalom” data and for providing us with a comprehensive report.  I thought it was very important to review the data and come up with some action items we could implement in response. Hope you were happy with the results.

Thanks to Sandy Shapiro for the professional financial report.  Because of the inheritance we received last year, our financial situation is very strong.  Although we have spent some of it this year, as Sandy indicated, we have chosen to invest most of it wisely to ensure the future security of the Congregation.

We have been working on updating our website so that we can better utilize internet searches so newcomers to the area can find us more easily.  That will be up and running very soon. 

We have been more focused on “social” events this past year and that will continue.  The Board felt that Covid isolated us a little and we wanted to start getting together again.  They’ve been very well received, and I hope you’ve enjoyed them.

One of my goals last year was to create some redundancies in our systems.  We needed backups for the essential systems that we utilize to run the Synagogue.  We have accomplished some of those goals, but more remains to be done. Jeff Overman has done an outstanding job taking over what Bill Altman previously did.  We are still in need of some volunteers.  We would like to start showing movies again in the fall but need someone to handle that.  Dan Geller has stepped up to be the House Chair, but he needs backup when he travels.  Happily, we have been able to form a Bereavement Group thanks to Leslie Meyer Miller who is facilitating it.  Leslie tells me it’s going well and is always happy to add new members to the group.  We’re grateful to Leslie for this important group.

I know you understand our organization is built on volunteerism – it only works because so many of us have given our time and energy over the years.  If you have computer skills, we need you; if you are a people person, we need you; if you want to give a little of yourself to those in need, we need you.  When we send an email looking for help, consider stepping up.  That is how we will continue to grow.  We have many younger members now and I am so happy to see some of them on the Board.

You know there are numerous individuals who give of themselves to this Congregation, too many to name here. You know who you are, and I thank you for your generosity of spirit.

My mantra continues to be: please be generous with your praise and gentle with your criticism.  We are all volunteers trying to do our best!