Dear Friends,

 On February 7, the NCJW along with the Beth Sholom Sisterhood sponsored the Family Bingo. In years past it seemed the same 10 or so families would attend for a total of about 40 people. This year the attendance was outstanding with over 25 families representing 100 “players” in attendance. It was wonderful to see so many friends. Thanks to both the NCJW and the Sisterhood for co-sponsoring this very fun evening. Please plan on attending family bingo night next year.

   We recently passed a hurdle in our effort to pay off the mortgage at our Community Center. Last month we crossed below the $1,000,000 amount for the first time since the construction phase on our primary building. It is heartening to continue to see the mortgage being paid off at about $70,000 a year. Because of this reduced principal as well as lower interest rates, our monthly mortgage payment in the last ten years has changed from $14,000 to $4,500 a month. This is obviously a huge savings for our Shul.

We can, however, do better. Please accept this gentle reminder of the ongoing campaign to dedicate the Community Center Sanctuary in honor of Rabbi and Carol Kosman. We have already received pledges in excess of $70,000 towards our goal of $250,000. If you have not already contributed please consider doing so now.

The following are the highlights of the Feb. 12 Board of Trustees meeting.

Treasurer’s Report: Joanna Pearson gave a detailed report of the Synagogue’s financial situation. It appears that general fund income is not quite keeping up with our budgetary expectations. She will continue to monitor the situation. The synagogue recently received a $10,000 donation from the Guggenheim family. We are working with them to determine an appropriate way to dedicate something tangible for them for this fine contribution.

Budget and Finance Committee: The process for next year’s budget is continuing. Andy Mekelburg reported that the “easy work” has been completed. They are striving toward submitting a balanced budget within the next month.

Religious Affairs Committee: Bill Goldberg has agreed to replace Jeff Rossio as the chair of the Religious Affairs Committee. Bill is a regular attendee at Shabbos and Sunday morning services. Please thank Bill for stepping up to this most important job.

New Member Committee: Stephanie Egly advised that a new member event will be held in conjunction with the family Shabbaton during the last weekend of February.

Gala Committee: Also reporting for the Gala event, Stephanie Egly said the committee has begun the work for next year’s Gala Awards event. They are also considering new ideas for the Ad Book in the hopes of generating more money.

BingoReport: Carl Lazerow reported that the Bingo games continue to do well. Other than those nights when we were closed due to inclement weather, the receipts for January were excellent. We do need more workers. Although the second and fourth Mondays of the month are particularly problematic, Sunday nights are also in need of more volunteers. Please strongly consider giving more of your time. The new Bingo table is working out well. A new speaker system will be installed in the Social Hall to improve the ability of our patrons to hear the callers.

Long Range Planning Committee: The LRP committee has met several times in the past few months reviewing the sets of architectural plans for the eventual expansion of the Community Center. Although this exciting endeavor is still years away, it is comforting to provide a future blueprint of a much larger facility that will allow for so much more programming.

New Business: A round table discussion of our security procedures for the High Holidays dominated new business. Although the general consensus was that we would increase security during the High Holidays, we are unsure of exactly how to proceed. Our Executive Director Pauline Horn will contact the appropriate agencies to gather more information and will forward it to the Board of Trustees. Expect to hear much more on this topic over the next several months. 

Next meeting is scheduled for March 11 at 7:30pm in the Weinberg Chapel at the Community Center. Topics of discussion will include the Day School, and continued review of our ticket and security procedures for the 2004 High Holiday Services. All congregants are encouraged to attend.

Volunteer of the Month: Please join me in congratulating Alan Krause as our volunteer of the month. Alan has been chairing the very popular Xmas police ride-along for the past seven years. In the past he has been a member of the Board of Trustees and a Monday night bingo worker. Please join me in thanking Alan for his years of hard work.