So Difficult to Say Goodbye

by Arliene Botnick, February 28, 2016

After 20 years as a valued and dedicated secretary, Peggy Hayter will be leaving her position at Solel. As our financial secretary, Peggy made sure the bills were paid, invoices were sent out and accurate records kept. She also edited our monthly Shammas, compiling all the articles, formatting and searching out delightful and humorous relevant clip art to enhance the written words.

For our school, Peggy sent out the weekly teacher’s newsletter (modiyah) and kept track of the honourariums given to the teachers. But Peggy went far beyond secretarial expectations. On the High Holidays, she was there to greet us (and check our tickets) as we entered Solel. She attended special services, supported dinners and guest speaker events, joined us occasionally for our Lunch and Learn and theatre nights. In other words, beyond being our financial secretary, Peggy was and still is a “Solelnik”.

But the only constant is change, and Solel has been, is and will continue to change. With the outstanding volunteer efforts of Lara Beauvais, we now get a weekly Solel Shammas online. As well, volunteers (as in the long ago past) will be providing a monthly Shammas. Modern computer technology can now do much of our financial work, and a somewhat smaller “Solel” no longer needs two full-time secretaries. Our amazing Carol will be continuing to “woman” the office and we know that all of you will support her and our volunteers as we go through yet another transition.

But I want us all to let Peggy know how much we value her and all that she has done for Solel. To that end, a Friday night service to honour Peggy will take place sometime before the end of June (date TBD) and we’ll be there to thank her for 20 years of exceptional commitment, caring and dedication.

Even when Peggy is no longer an employee at Solel, she will always continue to be a friend, a supporter and a true “Solelnik”.

So we can say Shalom – “Goodbye”, but also let us say “L’hitraot – til next time”, because Peggy will always be welcome to come back home to see us.

Filed under: Educator's Message

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