PRESIDENT'S CORNER by Garry Cohen May 2003 gmcohen61@yahoo.com

Dear Friends,

      Our new Capital Campaign has just started! The first round of letters was sent out the last week of March. I am sure many of you are thinking - Here we go again – The Synagogue is looking for more money. We are, but I would like to think it is for all of the right reasons. 

     The first reason is to raise funds to help pay down the mortgage. The Board of Trustees decided to honor Rabbi and Carol by naming the Sanctuary after them. During their 41+ years here, they have been instrumental in the continued growth of the Frederick Jewish Community. They continue to dedicate their lives to us. Secondly, it has been 5 years since we had our last Capital Campaign. The Board feels that the best way to use this money is by reducing our debt, not by funding ongoing expenses. We continue to live within our means; however, to ensure our future growth we need to raise this money to reduce our expenses.

     When we began the last Capital Campaign we had a mortgage of approximately $1,500,000. Our current mortgage has been reduced to $1,100,000. As mentioned in previous President’s Corners, our interest rate has been reduced dramatically. Accordingly our monthly mortgage payments are much lower. This Capital Campaign will allow us to accelerate the prepayment of principal on this note and, thereby, continue to move forward with expanding the programs being offered. I am pleased to announce that in the infancy of this campaign, we have already received pledges of $24,300 towards our stated goal of $250,000. Included in this amount is a donation in the amount of $1,000 from Farmers and Mechanics Bank. Their President, Faye Cannon, is due special thanks for agreeing to this donation to help our Synagogue. 

     During the upcoming months, along with others, I will personally contact many of our members about making pledges. Please be generous in your support.

     The search for the Assistant Rabbi is moving forward. At the time of this writing we have worked through the first round of telephone interviews and have narrowed the list. We still continue to get more applications. We now have received 27 resumes. Amazing! I am frequently asked if we expect to hire an Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform Rabbi. The answer is that we need to hire a Rabbi that understands our wonderful diversity.  One who is willing to not only accept, but also promote it, and allow us to move forward in what we can offer our members. Therefore, this new Rabbi’s religious identification is not nearly as important as his ability to respect, support and strengthen our uniqueness. I am confident that our highly tolerant and understanding Congregation will be accepting of this Rabbi and not prejudge based on his Jewish classification. 

     The Search Committee is purposely comprised of a religious and demographic cross section of the Congregation. It is extremely important that all of the Synagogues viewpoints are represented and their opinions heard. From the list of candidates, this Committee will then make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees. Once the Board accepts a candidate, a special meeting of the Congregation will be called to vote on the new Assistant Rabbi. Stay Tuned!

Following are the highlights from the last Board of Trustees meeting.

Bingo: The Bingo Captains recently agreed to increase the prizes. Since this change we have seen an increase in the number of players. It appears that the Sunday night Bingos are well staffed with volunteers. Monday night Bingos need more workers.

Budget and Finance: Andy Mekelburg led the discussion on next year’s proposed budget. Modest increases were approved in both dues and salaries. We are fully funding the position of the Assistant Rabbi in the upcoming fiscal year.

Board of Education: The Board of Ed advised that due to the continued increase in the number of children on a waiting list, there may be another two-year old and there will be a three-year old afternoon class added to the program starting this fall. Religious School registration will begin shortly for next year’s classes.

Long Range Planning: The Search Committee has had several meetings during which telephone interviews were conducted with 5 Assistant Rabbi candidates. Several of these candidates will be invited to Frederick during April and May so that the Congregation will have an opportunity to meet them.

Membership: Synagogue membership continues to grow. We are currently at 314 families. This is approximately 22 more families than at the start of our fiscal year.

Library: Andy Carpel advised that the process of cataloging all of the books is nearly completed. The Committee is still ironing out the processes involved with checking out books.

Beautification/Dedication: The Holocaust Torah has been mounted in a Lucite case on the front right wall of the Sanctuary. It is very impressive. Thanks to this Committee for all of their hard work. 

Chanukah: Sylvia Haber, the chair of this committee for the last several years, suggested we explore having a different format to the Chanukah party this year. If you have any ideas, or would just like to help, please contact her.

New Business: Please congratulate Terri Weinstein on her election to the Board of Trustees. Terri is very dedicated to Beth Sholom.  She is Treasurer of the Nursery School PTO, and is also an active member of Sisterhood.  Terri works bingo one night a month in the kitchen and one night on the floor selling cards and holders. 

Volunteer of the Month:  Sid Kandel has been involved with Beth Sholom since he was born.  He serves on the Board of Trustees, is a Bingo captain, has served on the House Committee, Beautification and Dedication, Long Range Planning, Rabbinical Search Committee and many others.  Sid is also one of our resident artists.  He sculpted the Tree of Life and our new donor board outside the sanctuary at the Community Center.  He also finds volunteers to work bingo.  So if Sid gives you a call, please follow his example and say, “Yes, I would love to help Beth Sholom.”

Next Meeting:  Please note that the Annual Congregational meeting is scheduled for May 14^th 2003 at the Community Center at 8:00 pm. The Board of Trustees looks forward to seeing you there.