From the President

A New Year and a New Reality

As we reflect on the coming year, we need to consider what we need to do to manage our way through a hostile environment. The warning signs are all around. The recession has reduced the amount of money available for religious and charitable institutions. The costs for participation in the Jewish community are very high. The Jewish community is getting older and smaller. Our children are moving out of state. Intermarriage puts additional pressures on the size of our community. In other words, economic and demographic forces are all coming together to force a day of reckoning in the not too distant future. Simply stated, the old models no longer seem to be working.

So, we need to plan and to be prepared.

And, we are planning. We have lowered our costs. We are no longer subsidizing events. We are thinking about creative ways to replenish our reserves. We are reevaluating our dues structure to try to make the base cost more acceptable to the average member. We are also reevaluating our mission to make sure that the majority of our members' basic needs are met while reducing the number of those activities which are not supported by many members.

The reevaluation of our mission must embrace providing a reason other than habit for our members to support us and to become more engaged in what we do. We know that everyone is busy making ends meet and that the time demands and multiple choices available result in most members deciding against active participation in the congregation. As of now a very small percent of our members participate in the many activities and programs provided. We need to find the way to make our congregation relevant to the majority. This is not an easy challenge.

A significant part of our plan is to create a truly unique signature program for feeding the hungry with our Salinsky money. It is our hope that this food program will stir a majority of our members
into a desire to actively participate in this worthwhile endeavor.

Your officers and your board and your staff have no particular insights on what we should be doing. You are our members.You are our constituents. You are our reason for our very existence. We need to know what you expect from us. We need to know what you want us to do. We need to know what you don't want us to do. We all have a stake in this. We need your ideas and your thoughts.

This is our new year. We can do nothing different and simply let these realities overwhelm us. That is really not an option. We need you to help guide us so we successfully engage this new reality and proactively create our future. As I said at the annual meeting, the future of our congregation is in your hands.

Robert Friebert