Executive Director

Thank you to everyone who attended the Annual Meeting last night either in-person or via the livestream. Below are excerpts of my report, and pre-recorded videos from myself, our Treasurer, Marc Oppen, and the Presidents of Hazak, Alvin Stern, Men’s Club, Mike Perlow, and Sisterhood, Sherrie Cohen, can be viewed here https://www.tbsonline.org/annualmeeting

Thank you to all of you who are here this evening, and to those of you who are watching via the livestream. Each and every one of you has a part in the growth of our synagogue.

We very much appreciate the generous contributions of all of our donors, our Plus Givers, our corporate sponsors, our Life and Legacy participants, and the membership of our congregation at large. We could not do what we do without you, and we truly thank you for all your financial support.

There is a lot of gratitude being shown this evening to numerous individuals, and part of what we do at the annual meeting is recognize and thank our staff who celebrated milestone anniversaries this past year with the TBS staff years of service award. All you need to do is look at any edition of our community life book, one of the Thursday weekly emails, one of the weekly Shabbat announcements, or the weekly emails from the ECEC, religious school and high school, to get a sense of what takes place here at TBS on any given week. None of that would be possible without the hard work of our dedicated faculty and staff.

The roles of these TBS employees who are receiving the Staff Years of Service Award are crucial to the growth of our students as well as the successful daily operations of our synagogue, and we thank them not only for their years of service, but also for their loyalty and dedication. In recognition of their years of service, these employees will each receive a certificate acknowledging their tenure here at TBS. These certificates are from the JNF certifying that trees have been planted in Israel in the name of these individuals in gratitude for their service and dedication to TBS. The future growth of these trees represents the future growth of our school, our students, and our synagogue. And the following recipients of the staff years of service award are helping to plant the seeds for this growth by performing the tasks that they are responsible for. When I call your name, please come forward so I may present the certificate to you.

Sigal Algrably- celebrating five years in the ECEC and religious school. Morah Sigal started in the EBJ ECEC 5 years ago as a substitute teacher but quickly became a permanent and beloved member of the fours teaching team! Sigal is always there to lend a helping hand and can often be seen making elaborate bulletin boards, teaching her students about Israel, or cooking delicious food and pastries for the children and staff in the ECEC! Morah Sigal also is a wonderful teacher in our Dalet, fourth grade class, in the Rabbi Albert and Sarah Lewis Religious School.

Marisa Rosenbaum- celebrating ten years as a standout teacher in our ECEC 3-year-old program and religious school. Morah Marisa engages her students through activities, projects, and especially songs! Marisa can often be seen walking through the hallways of the ECEC singing songs about a special holiday or an event that is coming up. She is talented and effortlessly plans fun weekly get-togethers and special events for our 3’s classes. Morah Marisa also has taught in our Rabbi Albert and Sarah Lewis Religious School where she was a beloved teacher in our Bet, second grade, program.

Patty Trichon, who is celebrating 15 years at TBS, was hired to primarily handle bookkeeping functions. You might not know this, but before coming to TBS, Patty was a nurse for 20 years. Clearly, there are transferable skills when one chooses to change careers from nursing to bookkeeping - you have to know how to help stop the bleeding, you have to advise the executive director on pain management and blood pressure, you have to know how to decipher insurance plans, and you have to have a keen sense of monitoring vital signs such as our daily cash balance. Over time, Patty has taken on multiple responsibilities including accounts payable, payroll, and employee benefits. Patty wears numerous hats and she keeps her finger on the pulse of the synagogue.

Ilyse Mizrachi and Becca Neff

Ilyse Mizrachi- celebrating 5 years as a teacher in our 4-year-old program. Morah Ilyse began her teaching at Temple Beth Sholom as an assistant teacher in our 4-year-old program but quickly stepped into the role of lead teacher. Morah Ilyse hit the ground running as a lead teacher and has since become known for her leadership ability, fun but challenging curriculum, can-do attitude, and her talent for decorating!

Becca Neff - celebrating five years in the ECEC toddler and infant programs. Morah Becca started out in the EBJ ECEC toddler program and moved into our infant program about 3 years ago. Becca is reliable, patient, and easygoing. She can often be seen playing on the floor with an infant or bouncing them in her lap. She has been helping the older infants get ready for the toddler class by taking them to special activities.

Morah Ilyse and Morah Becca could not be here tonight so I will give them their certificates tomorrow.

Mazel Tov to each of you and thank you again for all that you do for our synagogue and the TBS community.

Just a few housekeeping items before I close: I am sure that all of you have noticed the condition of the parking lot, which now contains numerous potholes of various sizes. Repairs to the most heavily deteriorated areas will be taking place next week.

Membership renewal for the coming year was rolled out several weeks ago. If you have not already, please submit your membership renewal ASAP. If you need the link for the online membership renewal form, or prefer a hard copy of the renewal paperwork, please contact the office.

We do need to implement a modest dues increase for the coming year as a result of the rising costs of goods and services needed to operate the synagogue. If you are able to contribute more this year, we thank you in advance. If synagogue dues will create a financial hardship for your family, please reach out to me in confidence. We will make it work.

You can learn about security, building improvements, grants and more by viewing my pre-recorded annual meeting message, as well as pre-recorded messages from our Treasurer and Men’s Club, Sisterhood and Hazak, on our website.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom, and I look forward to seeing you in shul! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, you can always reach out to me at rons@tbsonline.org or (856) 751-6663 x218.

B’Shalom,

Ron Safier

Executive Director