BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The Nester Center

Members Present:

     Seth Axelrod, Jack Adler, Paula Goldstein, Rob Goldstein, Naomi Kamins,

     Richard Kamins, Howard May, Diana Lane, Lee Osborne, Myron Poliner, Mike

     Sigal, Jeremiah Weinstock, Rabbi Seth Haaz, ex officio

Members Absent:

     Stewart Danziger, Hyime Paley, James Poliner, Ron Rubel, Holly Simon,

     Steven Small, Irwin Zagoren

President Seth Axelrod called the meeting to order at 7:19 PM.

D'VAR TORAH

     Rabbi Haaz offered the D'var Torah in Paula Lawson's memory and in her

     honor; this is the week of her first yahrzeit. He spoke about leadership at

     this first meeting of the Board this year. Using as examples Moses,

     Aaron, and Miriam, he stressed that what is important is for the members

     of the Board to use each other's strengths to go forward.

     Referring to Paula, he asked what aspects of her legacy we can remember

     and follow through with. He reminded us to make a donation in her memory

     to an organization of her choice and to remember her good qualities.

CONGREGANT COMMENTS

     None

MINUTES FROM PRIOR MEETING

     The minutes from the Board Meeting on June 10, 2009 were approved

     with one typographical error corrected.

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

     Seth started by talking about this being a very exciting time in that the

     Congregation is experiencing a number of new beginnings. He

     acknowledged the tremendous job Eliot Meadow did as President during

     a very trying time, noting that we were very fortunate to have Eliot as

     our President.

     He reiterated his goals for the year as presented at the Board Retreat.

     One new initiative is his appointment of several non-voting

     representatives to the Board. The first such appointee is Bruce Taillon,

     representing non-Jewish spouses of members.

     Other initiatives include: holding the Board Retreat at the start of the

     year; a new format for monthly reports that should be sent directly to

     Eileen Daling, Office Administrator; stronger outreach to the Wesleyan

     community, e.g. softball game with the Bayit, Sukkah dedication on

     Foss Hill; creation of sub-groups of the board for mutual support; and

     loaning artifacts from our Museum to other synagogues.

     Items in progress:

     Shirley Morrison, current president of CT region of USCJ wants to

     address the board; she may attend the next Board meeting.

     Seth is working on getting oriented to USCJ, which has a wealth of

     resources and information. He will connect committee chairs with

     appropriate list servers.

     We are developing a system of regular feedback to religious school

     personnel, in particular with the head of school, Joanna Schnurman.

     The Personnel Committee is starting work on developing criteria for

     annual reviews of employees.

     Seth is recruiting a Wesleyan student representative to the board;

     he is looking for a Koach representative who will develop and maintain

     contact with CAI college-aged students during the year.

     He has appointed someone to start planning the formal installation

     of Rabbi Haaz - information will be forthcoming.

     Sunday is the Torah Dedication ceremony, marking completion of

     repairs to our small Torah - everyone is encouraged to perform the 

     mitzvah of writing in the Torah. Progress is being made on

     re-establishing the Bikkur Cholim Committee, coordinating those

     who make visits.

RABBI'S REPORT

     The holidays start in just one week. Rabbi Haaz asked that we lend

     a hand if people need help getting ready; we want to put our best

     foot forward.

     He requests that the Board offer feedback about the services for his

     consideration in his own preparation.

     Time together praying in the synagogue is not necessarily a comfortable

     experience for everyone. Some have lost what it is that being in

     synagogue does to help us connect with God.

     He is interested in helping us create a Mission Statement so that we

     have a simple, easy-to-remember, publishable statement of who and

     what we are. He has already started work on this. Meeting as many

     members of the congregation as possible, and getting out into

     the community are high priorities.

     He would like us to establish or re-establish a couple of committees,

     namely a Shabbat Committee to work with him and a Bikkur Cholim

     Committee.

     He wants to teach classes, one of which is a very basic literacy class,

     from which students can build. He is also available to work with anyone

     who would like to give a d'var torah.

    He wants to enhance and enliven our interfaith and conversion community.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

     Membership. We are currently at 202 membership units; we lost five

     over the summer. Holly is following a couple of leads. She is

     contemplating the idea of creating something like an exit interview

     for those who leave.

     Financial.

     Treasurer's Report: The Interfaith Golf Tournament brought in $25,000

     to each congregation and continues to build momentum. It continues

     to focus on youth, primarily in Portland and Middletown. David Director

     will make a presentation about the tournament at the holiday service.

     About 20 member units are using credit card payment system for their

     annual contribution. It would be helpful to have payment expectations

     as spelled out in the By-Laws included in the bill.

     Endowment Report: Myron reported the values of the main account and

     the Chevra Kadisha accounts. Israel Bonds have been discounted by

     7½%. In time, as the market moves up, the value will increase. As the

     market recovers, we should realize a substantial recovery in the

     endowment.

     In addition to his report, Myron offered to host a membership

     informational coffee at his home in East Hampton. He seeks help

     identifying Jewish people in the area to invite. He suggests that we

     hold similar events in all the surrounding towns.

BOARD NOTIFICATION/ACTION

     None.

OLD BUSINESS

     Remember to wear your nametag at all Synagogue activities. The basket

     is in the office.

     Sign up for your dates to make the announcements from the pulpit. Naomi

     has the calendars.

     Please make an effort to attend the dedication of the new Sukkah

     at Wesleyan on Saturday, October 3^rd.

NEW BUSINESS

     On October 13, Wesleyan is having an evening about pre-war Vilna. All

     are invited to a screening of a short film, a vocal soloist and a panel

     discussion at the Film Studies Center on Washington Terrace. Members

     of the congregation have been invited to the dinner beforehand at the

     Usdan Campus Center on Wyllys Avenue. Holly is coordinating the

     evening for CAI.

     The recent merger of the Vernon and Manchester congregations was noted.

     The meeting was adjourned at 8:42 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Naomi R. Kamins

Secretary