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 By Deborah Vozella, Executive Directoron ג' באדר ה'תש"ע (February 17th, 2010) in Board, News, at TBA
SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2010 10:00 AM According to the Bylaws, Article 5; Meetings of the Congregation Every March the Congregation shall meet for the following purposes: To approve the 2010 – 2011 Budget Please make every effort to attend this important meeting. This is a summary of the meeting minutes. Complete minutes are available in the Temple office by request.
I am happy to report that the team has completed the first phases almost two months ahead of plan, and significantly under the anticipated cost. Also, we have already been able to quantify some of the benefits of the changes. As you know, TBA had been producing a printed monthly bulletin for many years. Creating the bulletin was a intensive manual process, where the work fell on a one or two individuals who solicit, collect, edit, format, print and then mail not only to the congregation, but to interested parties in the community. The process took dozens, if not tens of dozens, of hours every month. Over the years, we have been very fortunate to have the talented and committed people within out congregation volunteering to do this work. For the past several years Anita Freed has been doing the bulk of this work. We all owe her our appreciation for going well above the call of duty to make all of this happen. Below you will find links to the TBA Monthly Bulletins for the past several years. The bulletins are available for download in Adobe PDF and Microsoft Word formats. As time permits we will make individual articles from these Bulletins available as posts to this web site. This is a summary of the meeting minutes. Complete minutes are available in the Temple office by request.
Continue reading November Board of Directors Meeting → The Martha and Max Rubinstein Memorial Garden is now a reality. The pergola, play area and plantings have brought a new dimension to our synagogue that is truly beyond belief. Kids can play safely, children and adults alike can learn outside, services will be a real treat under the pergola, and we can’t wait for our first wedding! The garden also gives us an opportunity to create a Capital Campaign that will help ensure TBA’s long-term growth. The Fundraising Committee (Alan Pierce, Linda Magalnick, and me) have put together a program that everyone can participate in. Of course there are naming rights for the big pieces of the garden; these items are listed below. But the focus of our campaign will be filling in all of the pathways with bricks that you will be able to engrave. A 4-by-8-inch regular brick will be sold for $118, with larger sizes available for a higher cost. Since the sizes and details have not been finalized at this time, we will be getting back to you with more specifics and how to order your bricks. Your options for engraving are limitless. You can permanently wish someone good health, give a Mazel Tov, use the engraving as a memorial to a loved one, or just about any idea you like. This will be great for the individual and a great benefit to TBA. Please consider ordering a brick, for you, a friend, a loved one. Each brick makes TBA stronger.
On October 13, 2009, the Board of Directors met. Executive Director Deb Vozella reviewed her revised job description. This includes: overseeing and supporting programming and committees; maintaining accounts payable and receivable; managing the Religious School; maintaining and managing databases and the TBA calendar; communication with the Board and TBA members; and representing TBA to the outside community. She will continue to attend meetings where applicable and support and assist all committee chairs, but will no longer chair committees. Committee and event chairs will be responsible for all program aspects, including planning and execution, coordinating publicity, budget, marketing, and financial re-caps. Amy Blake will assist Deb in overseeing support of TBA programming efforts. The Board determined that planning for the 2010 High Holidays should begin in June or earlier and that a High Holiday chairperson should be named. Deb Vozella reported that the first Community Learning Day was a success with over 70 attendees. Deb is coordinating these events with the help of Lisa Horowitz. The next Community Learning Day is November 1. Religious School enrollment is at 58 students in grades K7. Our teen program received a grant from the Jim Joseph Fund that will be used to subsidize a trip to Washington, D.C., over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. A lay-led service was scheduled for Friday, October 16, coordinated by Linda Goodspeed and Peter Gilmore. Deb reported on discussions with the JCC concerning renting space at TBA for a preschool. Donna Pierce agreed to chair the Kitchen Hospitality Committee. Jeff Schutzman reported on the Communications Task Force, which includes Jeff, Anita Freed, Lisa Horowitz and Deb Vozella. The task force is looking into ways to make communications from TBA more effective. The project will entail unifying e-mail lists and other retooling. The board discussed issues of privacy and access. President Marty Greenstein delivered a financial update. High Holiday pledges doubled in 2009 from 2008. Alan Pierce summarized the Sloane report and its relevance to TBA. Even prior to the issuance of the report, TBA had taken steps to increase membership, increase young leadership, discuss consolidation of activities with other temples or religious schools, and initiated a Strategic Planning Committee. The Board then went into executive session to meet with members of the Strategic Planning Committee. The following reports were received from committees: Membership—New members will receive welcome gifts and phone calls and will be assigned “buddy” families. A Shabbat service and Oneg to welcome new members is scheduled for Friday, November 6. Further phone bank efforts to unaffiliated families will be put on hold until the spring in order to focus efforts on new member retention. School—Students participated in Sukkot activities and a coffee hour for parents was scheduled. A holiday bazaar is scheduled for November 22. Volunteers are being sought to sell scrip sales during school hours. The committee needs a vice chair this year who can take over as chair next year. Ritual—Torah breastplates, crowns and accessories are being evaluated and will be cleaned or repaired as necessary. The committee is looking into reconnecting the speakers to the lobby and choosing new High Holiday prayer books. House—Committee members continue to make repairs around the Temple during Religious School hours. Volunteers would be welcomed. The next Board meeting is scheduled for November 10. We are a community of special individuals. So many take upon themselves projects to keep our congregation going and growing. Lauri and Brian Chertok spent much of last year working on the book The History of Temple B’nai Abraham. They compiled stories and photos, found grant money to offset the printing costs, and involved the Montserrat School of Art to help complete the project. The result is a priceless record of the history of the Jews in Beverly that has been recognized by the Jewish Historical Society of the North Shore as a valuable resource for that organization’s next book. Many people were involved in the making of the book, including our temple historian Elaine Israelsohn, Ralph Edelstein, and Deborah Willwerth. Their contributions to the project were invaluable, but they would all agree that it was Lauri and Brian who drove the project and made it happen. The book to date has raised $800 and copies are available for purchase in the Temple office. The Sheris family brought the “Cash for Gold” fundraiser to TBA. The two-day event raised $2,000—a much needed income boost to the Temple during these difficult financial times. Bringing a new fund-raiser to TBA helped the Sheris family fulfill their Share commitment. After Rabbi Rubenstein’s d’var Torah, Executive Director Deborah Vozella gave her report. Calendar events were noted, including a preschool/lower school Chanukah program on December 14 and Sisterhood’s “Ladies, Latkes, and Libations” event on December 15. TBA students will join three other temple schools for a Shabbat school day, featuring sessions with Rick Recht, at Congregation Shirat Hayam in Swampscott on December 20. A Torah study class led by Debbie Coltin will begin on January 4. TBA will host a community Healing Service on January 8 and a Comedy Night on January 24 at 8 p.m. The executive director also reported on the status of fundraising and announced plans to publicize a list of projects for which congregants can volunteer.
Continue reading Summary of the Board of Director’s Meeting – December 9, 2008 → At the November 11, 2008, Board of Directors meeting, Treasurer Peter Gilmore gave a financial update. The year-to-date Profit and Loss Statement was reviewed. The Board also received an update on the Share Plan. President Marty Greenstein gave an update on the Garden Project. The land where the garden is to be constructed has been cleared, and it is anticipated that much of the work will be completed by the spring. The project’s budget was reviewed, and the Board voted to approve the Garden Project budget.
Continue reading A Summary of the Board of Director’s Meeting – November 11, 2008 → |
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Youth
By 
By 
I wanted to give you an update on the changes that have been in progress over the past several months. Since September we have been working hard to improve the communications within the extended Temple B’nai Abraham community. At this point in time we can report to you that the first four phases of the plan are complete, and the next phase of the plan is well underway.
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