| Officers |
Directors |
|
President
Craig Judson
Vice Presidents
Dorothy Blint (Religious)
Debbie Deitch (Education)
Myrna Kimmelman (Membership)
Bernie Notas (Financial)
Michael Tejeda (Administrative)
Administrative Secretary
Larry Katz
Recording Secretary
Debbie Roudman
Treasurer
Lynn Levine
Past President
Rayna Arnold |
Michael Bloom (Rabbi Transition)
Bob Clayton (Ways & Means)
Molly Cohen (Social)
Aimee Ennick (Social)
Stacy Frauwirth (Education)
Sandy Frucht (Clergy Liaison)
JoAnn Knell (Special Assignments)
Gwen Korney (Membership)
Sid Landman (Budget)
Bob Levine (Ways & Means)
Sue Lefelstein (Religious)
Jana Lipman-Weiss (Membership)
Elise Lustig (Kiddush & Simcha)
Emily Nakisher (Havurot)
Bernie Notas (Long Range Planning)
Chuck Quinn (Publicity)
Auxiliary Directors
Lisa Elgazzar (Sisterhood)
Elliot Kallen (Men's Club)
Evan Nakishar (Pre-School)
|
View a list of our committees and
their members.
President
Craig Judson's President's Pen, July/August 2008
I am deeply honored to serve once again as president of Congregation B’nai Shalom. Since my family first joined in 1974 (when I was only 15 years old), our shul has had a special place in my life. We have grown, in terms of the quality of our Jewish observance, the religious and social participation of our membership, and overall as a spiritual home for our members. I am proud of our accomplishments. I want to extend a sincere V’yasher Koach to Rayna Arnold for her terrific leadership and commitment she has given to our Congregation as President these past four years.
Todah Rabah to Seri Gomberg, Dan Katzki, and Stan Goldman who have completed their service on the Board. Welcome to the new board members: Stacy Frauwirth (Education), Bob Clayton and Bob Levine (Ways and Means), Emily Nakisher (Havurot), and Lisa Elgazzar (Sisterhood president). In addition, I could not ask for a more talented and committed Executive Board: Myrna Kimmelman (Membership VP), Dorothy Blint (Religious VP), Bernie Notas (Financial VP), Michael Tejeda (Administrative VP), Lynn Levine (Treasurer), Larry Katz (Administrative Secretary), Debbie Roudman (Recording Secretary), and Rayna Arnold (Past President). This is a terrific group of Congregants to work with - members who always think of the greater good of the Congregation and the community.
The Board was installed on June 21st, with United Synagogue Regional President Margie Pomerantz serving as our Installing Officer. We also celebrated our first Anniversary Shabbat, a special recognition of congregants celebrating anniversaries in the month of June. We will be celebrating our anniversaries on the third Shabbat of each month.
As a holy community we continue to emphasize living a life of mitzvot, educating our members of all ages, supporting our synagogue through years of financial stability, increasing congregant participation in Shabbat services, and hopefully very soon - making improvements to our physical buildings. But where do we go from here? What are we as a community trying to accomplish in our service to God? We have unique opportunities to grow, mature, and learn from one another. We have a unique role to play as a conservative congregation honoring the traditions of our past while keeping our Jewish observances relevant and appropriate for our membership.
The current leadership shares a vision and a strong concern for our community. In the coming year, we are going to focus our efforts on the “people” aspect of the Congregation - working with all of the committees to review our programs, seeking new ideas from our members, and looking for ways to enliven our programs -- all focused toward making our membership more meaningful. It is our goal to inspire every Congregant to higher spiritual enlightenment, more social interaction, and greater personal involvement within our community. At the same time, we ALL are part of the membership committee dedicated to growing our membership.
The B’nai Shalom sanctuary is the central area of our worship. After nearly 30 years, it needs help: better access, new carpeting, more light, a better sound system. Early on in the CBS Renovation Project, we included the sanctuary in the plan. Because of the more immediate need for repairs, most notably carpet, pews, and lighting, it was suggested that we could and “should” start with the Sanctuary while we continue with the capital campaign and development of the construction drawings.
As you know from prior correspondence from Rayna Arnold, a special committee was formed to develop a scope of work and to work on materials for the renovation/remodeling of the sanctuary. The remodeling plan for the sanctuary includes expanding the bima and constructing a ramp for mobility access, recarpeting, adding more lights in the soffits, modernizing the drop lights, removing the wall paper around the perimeter of the room, painting the walls and ceiling, and upgrading the sound system. Finally, some of our pews have broken after nearly 30 years of use. The committee has recommended replacing all pews instead of trying more repairs and simply recovering the old pews with fabric. This plan was reviewed and discussed at the March and June Congregation meetings, and the sanctuary committee has been meeting with regularity. The scope of the work has expanded with great suggestions of covering the eight concrete columns with stone or tile and replacing the ark doors with glass. It would be beautiful if we can do it.
At the June 21st Congregation meeting, approval was given to proceed, if possible, with the remodeling of the Sanctuary. The biggest obstacle we face, besides escalating construction costs, is scheduling the work to be completed during the limited window for summertime access. At the time of publication, we are waiting to receive a second set of contract bid numbers from another contractor to be sure we are obtaining the best price possible and to be sure the work can be completed in a timely fashion.
A further update will be provided just as quickly as we have more information to share.
Finally, thank you to my family for allowing me the opportunity to serve as President once again and to keep attending those late night meetings! I look forward to a term of personal growth, spiritual enlightenment, and a fulfilling experience.
B’Shalom,
Craig L. Judson
