PRESIDENT HANDLEMAN’S ANNUAL MEETING REMARKS

Good evening. Thank you for coming to the 161^st annual meeting of Temple Beth El, Michigan’s oldest Jewish congregation

I want to thank the nominating committee chaired by our immediate past president, Mr. Jim Deutchman. His committee had a difficult task and nominated a group of highly dedicated, intelligent and caring people. I am proud to serve with them. We will move forward with an agenda we began last year that built on the foundation laid by those who came before us.

For the past year, I have had the privilege of working with a group of lay leaders, clergy and professionals that are best in class. A year ago, as we transitioned into my presidency, I began meeting regularly with each member of the clergy and our executive director. These meetings helped Temple Beth El continue to be the vibrant, leading institution it has always been.

Rabbi Syme’s thoughtful suggestions and guidance regarding where we need to go as a congregation have helped insure we get there. His memorable sermon from last year’s High Holy Day service still echoes in the minds and resonates in the hearts of our congregants.

I also received wonderful guidance from our Rabbinic Associate, Keren Alpert. While serving our congregation, including overseeing our education program, she has been working hard to become ordained as Rabbi Alpert. Her dream will soon come true and everyone associated with Temple will be invited to join her and her family in a special celebration next year.

Cantor Rachel Gottlieb Kalmowitz and I have many shared visions. All of us carry a responsibility as leaders of the congregation, but in a little less than two months, our Temple family will have its newest member and Rachel will be carrying a much different responsibility. I am sure no one will have a problem recognizing Rachel because her enthusiasm and warm smile are so welcoming to all our congregants.

I hope everyone has taken the opportunity to introduce themselves to Tessa Goldberg. She just celebrated her first year anniversary as our Executive Director. The entire Temple leadership - clergy, lay leaders and professional staff - have been pleased with her performance and I am happy to report she has enjoyed her first year here as well.

Our congregation has fared better than most during these difficult economic times because of some difficult decisions made in prior years. The leadership of the Temple has positioned us so for the first time in 30 years we can look at the possibility of having a balanced budget. We should all hope our initial projections come to fruition.

Our future is bright because our schools are the best option for families throughout our community. This is because of the excellent programming being administered by Marlene Thav and Arlene Keller. Our nursery school was sold out; again! Our summer camp is full; again!

Our Archives, led by Jan Durecki, and Library, led by Eileen Polk, have had wonderful programs bringing nationally known experts to Temple speaking on a variety of interesting subjects. These are things that help define us as a full service institution.

During the past year, we have been faced with challenges and opportunities, big and small. But we have tried to deal with every issue with only one focus in mind - that was how to answer the question, what is best for Temple Beth El congregants?

Some of the events that have taken place since last June included a memorable dinner with almost 400 people coming to honor the service of Tom and Renee Jablonski. Our Kitchen Shower attracted more than 100 people who helped offset the cost incurred with the changing of our caterer. Our Passover Tables event was bigger and better than last year. The Annual Appeal has continued to help us work towards a balanced operating budget. This month, we had a young persons’ pajama movie party that brought almost 100 people into our Temple and less than two weeks ago, we had our initial Shabbat, Sports & Schmoozing event that also attracted more than 100 people.

Two common threads to all the just mentioned activities that bode very well for our future is that first, members of your Temple came up with these ideas. Second, we had other members volunteer to lead the effort to make these ideas become realities.

All of us must remember that our Temple is a place of inspiration and learning, a place Rabbi Syme refers to as home. Your Temple has a place for you. Whatever your interest and however you want to share your talent, we will find a way to keep you engaged so Temple Beth El becomes stronger.

You can learn more about our activities by checking the Temple facebook page where you will see photographs from when Keren Alpert led a group of 20 adults on an Israeli adventure. I have continued to hear from the participants, as recently as this past weekend, about the relationships they made with congregants they never knew. Keren also led a group of Confirmands to Washington DC, a trip that included a meeting with Senator Carl Levin.

We also did the mundane things that were required to keep our facility functioning. We replaced the doors to the building entrances. We also repaired and sealed the roof and concrete exterior of the DeRoy Sanctuary. The acquisition of a new piano will help ensure the wonderful quality of music we hear whenever there is an event in the DeRoy Sanctuary.

We have moved further into the 21^st century by updating our weekly email blast and we have made our facebook page relevant. Another important accomplishment has been the addition of Cutting Edge Cuisine as our caterer. Tonight’s dinner was another example of Zack Sklar’s prowess in our newly restocked kitchen which includes dishes, silverware, glasses and cooking utensils.

We are working on many other projects that I hope to report as completed when we next meet in 2012. In the meantime, you should have a great deal of confidence in the men and women who have accepted the call of leadership as your Temple continues to move forward.

Finally, with great heartfelt pride, I want all of you to know my wife is my partner. I would not be standing here if she was not supportive. This position has impacted all aspects of our life. To the lovely Rose, thank you for saying yes when I was asked to serve. Thank you for serving as well.