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Congregation Adath Israel

Middletown, CT
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes: June 10, 2009 PDF Print E-mail

LAST MONTH'S MINUTES

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The Nester Center

 

Members Present: President Eliot Meadow, Jack Adler, Seth Axelrod, Naomi Kamins, Howard May, Lee Osborne, Jim Poliner, Myron Poliner, Ron Rubel, Mike Sigal, Holly Simon, Jeremiah Weinstock, Irwin Zagoren

Members Absent: Stewart Danziger, Richard Lawson, Susan Miller, Hyime Paley, Stanley Sadinsky, Steven Small,

Others Present: Joanna Schnurman

 

The meeting was called to order at 7:20 pm by Eliot Meadow.

 

D'VAR TORAH

 

B'Ha'alotecha, in the Book of Numbers, relates a variety of topics of importance that occurred while Moses and all the tribes were journeying through the desert. Naomi chose to speak about how Moses found he couldn't cope with the bickering, complaints, demands for something else to eat, relief from the tough life they were living, etc., and how he reached out to God for help. God requested that Moses gather 70 elders from among the tribes who could help him shoulder the burden of leadership. On these leaders, God visited a divine experience to give them some of the same insight and leadership qualities that he had already bestowed on Moses. We are now on the eve of our congregation elections. Our Moses and his "elders" will have to face the cries for change and the demands for status quo, the bickering and the requests for kindnesses, find the way to move forward while preserving that of value. We hope our leaders will truly help take on the burden of leadership and be guided by an inspiration that will help them in their endeavors on behalf of the congregation.

 

CONGREGANT COMMENTS

 

None

MINUTES FROM PRIOR MEETING

The minutes from the prior Board Meeting were approved.

 

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

 

  • A security guard was shot and killed today at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. The shooter was a neo-Nazi from Mississippi, who was himself shot and killed.
  • On a brighter note, Eliot reported that he attended the USCJ meeting in New York City, where was impressed by the vision of the new president.
  • Participation in The Relay for Life event was a very meaningful experience. The CAI team raised over $2,500, although that was not sufficient to reach their goal.
  • Rabbi Haaz was here late last week to look around the synagogue and the apartment. He attended the monthly clergy meeting.
  • We need to plan an installation. To that end, Eliot has asked several people to coordinate the event and coordinate the date with Rabbi Haaz.
  • Eliot went to the JTS commencement, which was a very nice ceremony and took pictures that could be posted on the Website.
  • Our interns Ami and Eve would like us to put together a synagogue trip to Israel that would include a visit with them.
  • Eliot is going to Israel late this summer and plans to travel with the Nefesh B'Nefesh group making Aliyah from the U.S.
  • Eliot's final remarks in his report were that this is his last board meeting as president of the congregation. He said it has been an honor and it was fun. He thanked all for their support.

    •  

    INTERNS' REPORT

    None.

     

    RELIGIOUS SCHOOL REPORT

     

    Joanna was not yet present, but no one had a question regarding her written report.

    MEMBERSHIP REPORT

    Holly suggested that it would be helpful to have more "boilerplate" material about the congregation, who we are and what we do.

    FINANCIAL REPORT

    TREASURER'S

    All bills are paid. The treasury is approximately $130,000 in the red. We are using about $121,000 from the Endowment.

     

    ENDOWMENT

     

    Myron reported the current values of the main endowment and the Chevra Kadisha endowment. We have withdrawn $89,000 just over the past few months and are taking from the principal. Every month we are using more than the endowment main fund is earning monthly.

    FOCUS TOPIC

    There was none this month.

    BOARD NOTIFICATION OR ACTION REQUESTS

    The Ritual Committee is gong to start work on assigning honors for the holidays and asks all board members to notify the committee which services each person will attend.

    AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS

    Nester Center and Zibulsky Kitchen dedication:  Will be held on August 30th from 2 to 4 pm in the auditorium. Richard Kamins and Terri Klein are planning a short program of speeches and presentations. The invitation list is being developed. The Synagogal singers will lead the assembled in national anthems, the Rabbi will lead us in appropriate prayers for dedicating the facilities, and the ceremony will conclude with mounting a mezuzah on the Nester Center front door. Refreshments will be served in the auditorium. Contributors will have the option of having their names inscribed on a plaque.

    OLD BUSINESS:

    Nester Center:    The electronic card entry system is being installed. The electronic video system and monitor are being installed.

     

    The budget for 2009-2010. The treasurer presented the budget. A motion was made to approve the budget; it was seconded. There was discussion about seeking donations to help defray costs in the Nester Center apartment. The motion was approved unanimously. It was recommended that Diana Lane be directed to speak with Holly Simon and Irwin Zagoren about an energy audit for the apartment. The contract with Rabbi Haaz is ready for signing.

     

    Nominations:  Rich Lawson has notified the board that he has to step back from his synagogue responsibilities during this transition year. We expect to go into the semi-annual meeting without a nominee for the position of vice president.

     

    Committees:  Seth announced several committee chairs as follows:  Steven Small and Patresha Rogoff, fundraising, and Richard Kamins, the Director Music Fund. He mentioned that he has several congregants considering chairing the Ritual Committee. He also announced that our congregation softball team, the Matzo Balls, has co-captains --- Eliot Meadow and Hal Guy. Patresha Rogoff is coordinating softball fields for the team's use.

     

    Regarding the cemetery, apparently no permits are needed to create an interfaith burial ground, and we can't find rules and regulations from any congregation with interfaith burial rules.

     

    NEW BUSINESS:

     

    Attorney Marc Glass has donated a '93 Honda Accord with 216,000 miles on it to sell on EBay or Auto Trader or to a person. The value is between $1,500 and $3,400. Irwin has taken the lead on disposal of the car.

     

    Website:  Ron Rubel announced that he is working with Steven Shapiro on putting the holdings of the museum on the Website. Currently 26 photos with identifying text are up. Steven wants to tie the pieces to a story line.

     

    In general, if photos are submitted for posting to the Website, they must have accompanying captions, and must be pre-screened. Pictures of children require waivers.

    Ron also announced that he has started to work on the congregation directory with Eileen.

    There was discussion about creating a new logo for CAI-perhaps something more contemporary. Ron said he has clip art that he can offer.

     

    Joanna Schnurman reported that at a recent bat mitzvah, the photographer did not honor our guidelines. She asked how to deal with this. It was decided that the ritual committee should take up this issue and create a letter of understanding for use with vendors working in the building.

     

    The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

     

    Respectfully submitted,

     

    Naomi R. Kamins

     

    Secretary