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Slated List of Board Officers and Directors for Annual Meeting, 2010
President: Elizabeth Weiner
Vice President: Mark Rushefsky
Treasurers: Howard Shayne & Shelley Simon
Secretary: Irwin Cohen
Directors:
Nancy Bright-Kaufman
Melanie Curtis
Lance Luria
Billie Marsala
David Morrow
Judith Peavey
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Rabbi’s Report for Annual Meeting, April 25, 2010
Temple Israel is what we traditionally call a kehillah kedushah, a holy congregation. Your presence today at Temple Israel’s annual meeting demonstrates that you recognize this holiness and understand the importance of this congregation as a sacred element of your life as a Jew. So thank you for taking time out of your Sunday to come here, as together we review and assess what we have accomplished during the past year, and to make plans for the year ahead.
We have again been blessed with another year of beautiful Shabbats, holy days, and other observances. These have included Yom Hashoah, Yom Ha’atzmaut, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah with both an oneg Shabbat and a luncheon, Yom Kippur followed by a break-the-fast, Sukkot, Simhat Torah with a Consecration service, Interfaith Thanksgiving with the Unitarian Church, Hanukkah, Purim, and just recently Pesach. We have celebrated three B’nei Mitzvah and the births of several new babies. Programming we have continued includes Friday night services conducted by the students of our Hebrew School; Sunday morning Torah study for adults; and Tot Shabbat, this year including a Tot Havdallah. As always we are enormously grateful to the Temple Israel Choir for singing on Shabbats, holidays, B’nei Mitzvah, and other occasions. We are continuing our Introduction to Judaism class that meets almost every week and we are going ahead with our Summer Hebrew program. Our Religious School, which includes the children’s library program, remains state-of-the-art, with thanks due to the dedicated and creative educational staff.
We have had the privilege of learning Torah and all things Jewish under the guidance of some excellent guest speakers; we have been active in the Springfield Interfaith Alliance; we hosted another successful Art Fest. We were very privileged to have our own Cantor Shayna Peavey perform at temple. We have awarded Jewish summer camp scholarships from the Michael and Susan Freelander Fund.
This past year, we have lost members; we mourn the deaths of Betty Arbeitman; Ron Sokol; long-time member Joe King; Joel Persky, who contributed much to this congregation as a former president and in countless ways; and, at the age of 98, Hyman Lotven, a pillar of this congregation without whom we might not still exist as a Springfield Jewish community. Zichronam livracha – may their memories, and the memories of all who were dear to us, be a blessing.
I am still fulfilling many speaking engagements at schools and churches, and I still serve on the board of the AIDS Project of the Ozarks. The temple is running more smoothly and my life has become much less stressful thanks to our new administrative assistant Ann Tabor, who began working here just in time for the holy days last autumn.
Thank you to the Temple Israel Choir, the Sisterhood, the Interfaith Committee, the Religious School faculty, the Foundation, the Fund Raising Committee, the House Committee, everyone who worked so hard to make the holidays happen, all who hosted an oneg Shabbat, the Membership Committee, the Temple Israel Youth Orchestra, the parents, the children, the old-timers who are the heart and soul of this congregation (and with the passing of every year, more and more of us become old-timers), and the new members who are adding to our ranks. A very special thank you to our conscientious and hard-working Board of Directors, headed by our excellent president Elizabeth Weiner. Thank you and my apologies to any one I have inadvertently failed to mention. Thank you to every single member of our amazing congregation.
May we -- members of this kehillah kedushah, this holy congregation that is Temple Israel – be granted the strength to keep Judaism alive and thriving in our small but mighty community. May we encourage and support one another in our endeavors, may we feel and appreciate our connection to Jews everywhere, and may we use all of our powers to bring blessing to the world.
Mi sheg’malchem kol tov, hu yigmalchem kol tov selah. May the One who has bestowed goodness upon us continue to bestow every goodness upon us forever. And let us say amen.
Respectfully submitted,
Rabbi Rita Sherwin
March 3, 2010
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House Committee Report • April 2010
During our past severe winter, we have had to spend nearly $2,000 on snow removal and ice control. After receiving the first billing for two storms that were four days apart (each storm dropping in excess of four inches), I researched the prices with two other local snow removal companies. Our vendor is in-line with the other companies’ prices and their service has been very timely.
We have been audited by the Rogersville Fire Department and made improvements to our fire safety as recommended by the department.
I will be purchasing a large load of red mulch and asking for help in spreading it throughout our landscaping as time and weather permit in the coming weeks.
Submitted by Kevin Sweckard
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Religious School Report • April 2010
2009-2010 Hebrew School:
We have three classes this year. Our total student body consists of thirteen students. Four students will be graduating in May. Next year we anticipate three more students joining our Hebrew program.
The Hebrew School students have led or will lead four Shabbat services this year. We added a laptop computer with Hebrew language CD's to the armamentarium of the advanced Hebrew classroom in order to add enrichment in the form of conversational Hebrew for some students.
2009-2010 Sunday School:
We have twenty-five students this year in grades pre-school through 8th grade. There are five teachers/five classrooms. The Sunday school celebrated or will celebrate the following Jewish holidays this year: Sukkot, Chanukah, Tu B'Shevat, Purim, and Passover. We are also fortunate again this year to be able to offer the students the use of the library and to provide snacks each week.
Submitted by Kim Hamburg
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Membership Committee Report • 1/21/10
Total number of member family units: 107
Accomplishments since April, 2009:
-Drafted New Member Orientation and Integration Plan
-Developing a list of temple members willing to host a new member for dinner
-Responded to five inquiries for membership
-Helped two new members join the congregation
-Made first two follow-up contacts to new members
Still to do:
-Board will host a new-member Oneg Shabbat
Submitted by Linda Skolnick
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Concert and Choir Report • 2010
I believe I can speak for the congregation in claiming that the Shayna Peavey-Seeds of Sun Concert was an uplifting and joyful experience.
For this year, I had looked into a concert with Craig Taubman, arguably the most popular musical artist in the last several years. However, it turned out that it would be the most expensive event we have had, even with only part of his group, likely wiping out our entire fund (currently at a healthy $10,792). In the interim, it was proposed that we might have an educational weekend instead with Rabbi Lane Steinger, who had been here before when he was Regional Director of URJ (a position which has since been eliminated). Rabbi agreed to contact Rabbi Steinger for particulars, but this has proved more difficult than anticipated. However, it is still possible that we will have such an event before the end of the year. If not, we will perhaps have more resources in the fund to work with for next year. Thank you to all who have donated and continue to do so to the Concert Fund, and have enabled us to have thirteen programs in our series thus far.
I want to thank the members of the choir for their continued work and dedication. Mark Rushefsky and I have taken on the task of transcribing all of our arrangements into musical notation, which is taking some time. You may not know this, but we have seldom had actual musical arrangements to work with, but rather have come up with them on our own. They have not been in written form until now, and so it is taking some time to accomplish, but we have made substantial headway thus far.
Please call me with any ideas or suggestions for either the concert series or choir.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ken Burstin
2/23/10
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Youth Group Report • April 2010
This year, Dan Kaufman and the rabbi attempted to develop an active youth group. Two teenaged congregants encouraged Dan to lead the program and agreed to be youth leaders. A party was planned early in the year, but it was not well-attended. Mailings were sent to inform young congregants of what was available, and educational programming was also offered, but it appears there simply is not enough interest in a youth group at this time to start one. Inviting a URJ liaison for assistance was contemplated but not pursued. At this time, our congregation has no youth group and a Youth Group Leader is being sought. We will likely pursue URJ consultation when we find a new Youth Group Leader.
Submitted by Elizabeth Weiner
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Springfield Interfaith Alliance Committee Report • April 2010
Temple Israel is a long-standing member of the Springfield Interfaith Alliance, a religious group of laity and clergy dedicated to create respect and understanding for each others’ faith.
The member congregations are:
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Baha’i faith,
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Brentwood Christian,
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Christ Episcopal,
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South Street Christian,
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Temple Israel
The group meets the second Monday of each month at noon at the South Street Christian Church. Any temple member interested in attending is always welcome.
In July, we had a day at Hammons Field and enjoyed watching the Springfield Cardinals play.
In October, the group held its annual picnic at Nathanial Greene Park with representation from all congregations and over seventy-five in attendance.
In 2009, we continued our unique panel discussions on the basics of our faiths, pointing out the similarities and differences among us. In March, the second panel discussion was held at Christ Episcopal Church. In May, it was held at Brentwood Christian Church, and in January 2010 it was held at our temple. It was enlightening to discover how much in common we have.
This year the group hopes to expand the Alliance to include addition religions to expand our understanding of each others’ faiths.
I want to thank you for the support you provided throughout the years and hope you will continue supporting the group’s efforts.
I am stepping down as the temple representative and will be replaced by Sue Conine. It has been my honor to serve as your representative.
Irwin Cohen
Interfaith Chairperson
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E-Newsletter • March 4, 2010
The Temple Israel electronic newsletter (“e-news” is a weekly document that is e-mailed to 107 subscribers. Most subscribers are current members of Temple Israel, some are former members who have moved, and there are a few who may have (or had) a relationship with the temple at one time or another. Those few individuals have been on the subscriber list since I took over the e-news from Janet Encarnacion several years ago. The e-news database is managed through Shamash.org, and yearly invoices are submitted to the Board for approval and payment. Distribution of the e-news is sent through my personal e-mail account (
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
).
When requests are received through my Yahoo account from someone who is not a member of the temple but wishes to be placed on the e-news mailing list, I forward that request to the President and wait for approval before adding that individual’s name to the distribution list, as per Board policy.
Until quite recently, the e-news has gone out regularly. Over a year ago, I requested that the temple’s then newly-hired administrator take over the distribution of the e-news, since the information for the e-news comes from the temple’s “Temple Talk” publication. This did not happen and I continued to do the weekly e-news.
However, I have been unable to do the e-news for the temple for well over a month. This is mainly due to the fact that I do not have a working computer anymore in my home and, without a working computer/Internet connection, simply cannot send out the e-news. Second, I am unable (and not willing) to send the e-news from my work.
I do not know when I will have the means to obtain another computer for my home. Therefore, I am requesting again that our new administrator (or a volunteer) kindly take over the creation and distribution of the weekly e-news.
Nancy Bright-Kaufman
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Sisterhood Report • April 2009 - April 2010
Sisterhood membership rose from thirty-two in 2009 to thirty-four paid members in 2010. At the August 30, 2009 Sisterhood meeting, it was moved and voted upon that membership dues increase from $20/year to $25/year. Judith Peavey was re-elected as president of Sisterhood and Susan Conine as Secretary/Treasurer at the August 30, 2009 Sisterhood meeting. Regina Lotven stepped down as Treasurer after serving for many years. At that meeting, it was agreed that two amendments would be added to the Sisterhood constitution regarding membership. The first amendment added states: “Any woman who is interested in the activities of this Sisterhood and affiliated with the Temple shall be eligible to membership. Jewish full-time women college students may be members of Temple Israel Sisterhood during their college tenure without joining as members of Temple Israel.” The second amendment added states: “A prospective woman member of Temple Israel may be invited by a current dues-paying Sisterhood member to Temple Israel Sisterhood events no more than three times during a one-year period prior to her joining as a member of congregation Temple Israel.” Those two amendments have been officially added to the Sisterhood constitution.
Food and baking events: Sisterhood hosted the oneg following the eve of Rosh Hashanah service, and had enough desserts left over for the Rosh Hashanah luncheon the following day, as well as for the Yom Kippur break-the-fast. Sisterhood members also volunteered their time to help Melanie Grand prepare, cook and serve the break-the-fast meal. A few members also helped Gytel Lotven prepare her special potato soup for the break-the-fast meal.
Fundraising: Sisterhood raised close to $2000 for Temple Israel with their home-baked goods for the Art Fest bake sale in November. Sisterhood also had a successful garage sale fund raiser in October where we raised over $750.00.
Projects: Sisterhood completed their promised recycling project. We purchased plastic bins that are all labeled and stacked in the kitchen against the wall where the old refrigerator stood, that can hold plastic containers, glass, cans, and paper products. There are several smaller trash cans labeled “Paper Only” that have been strategically placed throughout the temple that will be emptied into the larger bin labeled “Paper Only” in the kitchen. The cleaning crew has been bringing the full recycle bins out to the trash area, and Ann has been bringing the emptied bins back into the kitchen.
Mitzvah/Tikkun Olam projects: Sisterhood donated money to the Homeless Families Project for the greater Springfield area, and agreed to match that amount to donate to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund for the rabbi to use with families in our own congregation who are experiencing difficulties during these hard economic times. It was also agreed that we would put an ad in “Temple Talk” to encourage all members to donate a list of needed items to the Victim Center. Many of these items have been delivered to the home of Nancy Cooper for the Victim Center. Sisterhood members have graciously provided food and comfort to Sisterhood members in need – either due to illness or death in the family.
Preservation Project: Sisterhood members Mara Cohen Ioannides,Judith Peavey, Sue Conine and Billie Marsala have been involved in a project for preserving Temple Israel’s rich history. They have met with the archivist at MSU and have been given professional ideas and suggestions from MSU and the History Museum. Mara has worked tirelessly talking to individuals in the area and from the URJ for ideas and materials. A formal proposal for displaying historical items in and around Temple Israel was presented to Temple Israel’s Board of Directors at the February 14, 2010 meeting. It was agreed that other options for materials and displays would be explored and then a second quote for material and a request for funds for the Preservation displays will be presented at the March Board meeting.
Donations to Temple Israel: In the 2008-2009 calendar year Sisterhood donated $1,500 to the Sunday School for needed items. We donated large-print prayer books to the temple and for the rabbi. We also paid Tom Peavey to build another set of bookshelves for the library. For the 2009-2010 calendar year Sisterhood has agreed to adopt the playground and over time try to expand the playground to add equipment, especially for the older kids, and upgrade the equipment that we have.
Activities: Book club is active and meets every two months. Different groups of women from the Sisterhood have gone to live plays and performances, going out for lunches and dinners prior to the performances. Future activities that have been discussed consist of showing movies from the Jewish Film Festival at a member’s home, crafts projects, a trip to the OOV Da Winery, going to lectures and events at the Discovery Center, Israeli dancing with Miriam Merrifield, a tour of member Bob Liebert’s herb farm in Ava possibly followed by lunch at the Rockbridge trout ranch, and possible trips to Jewish exhibits and festivals in Kansas City and/or Tulsa.
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Temple Israel Foundation • Treasurer’s Report: April 2010
Current Assets:
Cash Account: _ 6,842.88
Certificates of Deposit:
Current Value
_ Cemetery Trust Fund _ 29,443.46
(Maturity 08/19/2010)
_ Future Building Fund _ 26,132.37
(Maturity 09/02/2010)
_ Foundation Reserve Fund _ 31,508.82
(Maturity 07/23/2010)
_ Foundation Reserve Fund _ 21,360.15
(Maturity 08/19/2010)
Investments:
_ SG Structured Products Growth & Income
(Maturity 03/31/2011) _ 80,407.50
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Total Current Assets: $ 195,695.18
Cash Account Transactions:
Cash Account Beginning Balance:
(04/2009) $ 6,844.22
Deposits:
_ Misc. deposits _ 00.00
_ Memorial donations _ 18.00
_ Seat Plaque donations _ 00.00
_ Building Fund donation _ 25.00
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Total Deposits: $ 43.00
Expenditures:
_ Greene Co.RealEstateTax _ 29.34
‘2009’
_ MO Non Profit Corp. renewal fee ‘2009’
_ 15.00
Total Expenditures: $ 44.34
Cash Account Ending Balance:
(04/2010) $6,842.88
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Cemetary Report • April 25, 2010
BUDGET 2008
Income from Sale of lots 0.00
Expenses:
Lawn Masters $1735.00
The Monument Shoppe 30.00
Total 2550.00
Balance $7022.00
Funds to start with $8785.00
BUDGET 2009
Funds to start with $7022.00
Income from Sale of lots 0.00
Expenses:
Lawn Masters $1907.00
Ray Van Ostran 18.04
The Monument Shoppe 145.00
Total 2070.04
Balance $4952.00
BUDGET 2010
Funds to start with $4952.00
Income from Sale of lots 2500.00
Expenses:
Lawn Masters $1959.00
Ray Van Ostran 21.00
The Monument Shoppe 90.00
Mike's Tree Service 415.00
Total 2485.00
Balance $4966.00
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Treasurer’s Report • 2010 Annual Report
Temple Israel is in need of additional income! Due to the unstable economy and the changing demographics of our membership, our dues and donations are down. Dues are down around $600.00 from last year, but just over $10,000.00 from 2007. This is a decrease of over 10%. Our dues income only covered about 52% of our 2009 expenses.
Donations (not including directed donations) are down approximately $7,000 from last year. Donations covered about 16% of our total expenses in 2009.
Although we had our most successful Art Fest ever and a profitable afghan raffle, our overall fund raising income was down by almost $7,000 from last year. This is due to primarily to some previous events not being repeated and a sharp decline in club 52 participation. Our fund raising revenue covered about 5% of our total 2009 expenses.
The fact that these three main income areas only covered 73% of our expenses in 2009 created a deficit of about $18,000. If you add up the declines noted above we would have been on target for a balanced budget in 2009 and been in the black.
Our expenses were held in check and actually decreased for 2009 compared to 2008, but our decrease of income was significantly higher resulting in a deficit.
The good news is that we are able to cover this shortfall with our operational reserves. However as in any business, this trend cannot continue indefinitely. The board has appointed a special committee to examine the Temple’s long term financial sustainability. This committee will be making specific recommendations to the board to improve our situation.
On a final note, the board has elected to change our fiscal year to April 1st-March 31st to better reflect our board member terms and annual meeting reporting.
Please be open-minded and generous as we navigate this difficult time for our congregation.
Respectively Submitted:
Co-Treasures, Howard E. Shayne and Shelley Simon |
