Stepping Forward, Looking Back

As I end my term as President of Solel Congregation, I was looking forward to the coveted role of Past President, after all, this is a very illustrious group that I now get to join. However, as we continue to build out our board and develop our future leaders, I opted to return to the role of First Vice President to ensure that not only do we have continuity in leadership but to also continue to mentor our future leaders. As I step forward and back, I cannot help but to reflect over the last 2 years. As a board I believe that we have made great strides and I am grateful to everyone who has served on the board and been a part of this progress. Being a board member is not only a tremendous time commitment but also a huge commitment to the community. Our board members are truly interested in the well being of Solel and to everyone who has served on the board, either in the most recent term or in past terms, I would like to say how grateful I am of your support and your commitment. Our congregation is stronger because of the work that you have done. I would like to offer special thanks to our board members whose terms are coming to an end, to Kevin Shine, Deb Stoch, Nicole Hansen and Kim Mayne, thank you for your thoughtful insights and contributions to the board. Although we will miss you at our meetings, I know that each of you will continue to be deeply involved at Solel. For all of our new and returning board members, thank you for your desire to continue to work with us as we build for the future.

As for me, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve. While at times the commitment seemed a little daunting, and there were a few Monday nights that the gym was calling out or Netflix or work, I am grateful that Solel’s call was a little louder. I have learned a great deal over the last two years about dealing with the challenges associated with working in an environment almost entirely staffed by volunteers. Running an organization the size of Solel is a lot of work and we do not have enough staff to support all of the day to day activities and needs of the congregation. Solel has an incredible professional and office team, however, as there is a limit to the time that our staff has, a lot of the business of the congregation is conducted by volunteers. Everything from dealing with the budget and finances, working with the City on Bingo issues to getting the roof replaced, is primarily done by volunteers. Despite the challenges, it is very rewarding to look back and see tangible proof of what has been accomplished by some highly dedicated volunteers. To everyone to volunteers their time and expertise, thank you, Solel could not function with out you.

I am thrilled to be passing the leadership of the Solel Board on to Roselyn Allen. Having the opportunity to work with Ros over the last several years has left me with tremendous confidence that Solel will continue to thrive under her leadership. She has some great ideas and will continue to support the focus of new membership growth, legacy giving, financial support opportunities, community engagement and social action. I look forward to continuing to work with Ros and the entire Board to build for the future.

Finally, I would like to thank Rabbi Pollack for all of her support over the last 2 years. We are truly fortunate to have a Rabbi who continues to grow with Solel and who is so committed to our congregation. I would also like to thank Arliene Botnick, as President of the Congregation I am in awe of the incredible number of things that Arliene does, as a congregation we are truly fortunate to have a Director of Education who consistently goes above and beyond in all that she does every day. As a daughter, I am incredibly thankful that my mom is such an incredible role model, we are all truly blessed

Robbin

Filed under: President's Message

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