Annual report from Congregation Ner Tamid, 2011-2012

-. :-v '? - ? - ' ? r.- g -? Bob Unger, President bobunger@me.com Del Acosta, VP Ritual dacosta6@cox.net Lisa Skurow, VP Membership lskurow@yahoo.com Marsha Goldberg, VP Membership decagon12@aol.com Jacky Rosen, VP Youth & Education siegfried7@aol.com Cindy Jensen, VP Social Action ckjensen@cox.net Doug Unger. VP Ways and Means doug@dougunger.com George Freed, Treasurer george.j freed@gmail.com Pam Poster, Corporate Secretary pkposter@interact.ccsd net Rabbi Sanford Akselrad, Senior Rabbi rabbak@lvnertamid org Irustees Rick Carter recarter44@gmail com Bruce Familian famdev@familiandev.com Julie Barto-Fisher jbfish27@aol.com Debra Gorov debra_gorov@yahoo.com Andrea Harris andrea.harris@cbvegas.com Jeff Jonas jeffjonas@earthlink.net Gary Kantor lgjk@aol.com Lisa Katz katzcalendar@me com Rob Levrant nvchrisnrob@embarqmail.com Jacque Walton pjacksp@msn.com Susie Sernoe, Sisterhood Pres. sus830@cox net Blake Myers, Men's Club Pres. wa8bji@aol.com Zack Kapel, NTTY Pres. kapeM011@cox.net Kcnnclh Schnitzer Dr. David Wasserman ]eff Kahn Dr. Steve Kollins Hon. Michael Cherry Dr. Bernard Farrow 'Eugene Kirshbaum ?David Gold water ?Deceased C(Hidredd /uhi Afer On the Greenspun Campus for Jewish Life, Learning & Spiritual Renewal A f u u t o 2 0 1 1 / 2 0 1 2 T^riteu/je/Lt's /Vlessd A is hard to imagine that a year has gone by since I returned to the Board and began my encore term as President of our Congregation. After having been away for so long, there were many members and staff that I have met and worked with for the first time during this year. Trying to compare my term from 1996-1999 to my current term, I realized how we have grown both in membership and the level of participation and activities our Congregation has developed over the years. Our synagogue has become a very busy place. /4s a result of the extended recession in Southern Nevada many of our members have been under financial distress. That stress has resulted in many other personal issues for many of our members. Our clergy and staff have responded by meeting the challenge with compassion and commitment above and beyond what should be reasonably expected. We all owe them our gratitude for working through another difficult year for our community. / / personal highlight for me was the evolution and success of our Musical Season concept. All events were well attended and enjoyed by all. Thanks again to Leslie and Joan Dunn for opening their home for the wonderful evening with Theo Bikel and his wife and accompanist Tamara Brooks. It was a night we will remember for years to come. How sad we all were when we found out that Tamara died suddenly from a heart attack a few weeks later and that it may have been one of their last performances together. .Xnust also thank our Board for their hard work and cooperation in handling our search for both our new Rabbi/Educator and our new Executive Director. I believe we found two new team members who will bring their great talents and commitment to Reform Judaism. We expect many wonderful years ahead with their skills added to Rabbi Akselrad's and Philip's leadership. Jacky Rosen did a fantastic job in coordinating the search effort for our new Rabbi/Educator. We had several highly qualified applicants and can't wait to see Rabbi Reuben fully engaged with our kids. /VIlsjuM; St&tem&d: The mission of CNT is to provide meaningful religious services, life?long Jewish learning opportunities, cultural programs and social activities in order to perpetuate and advance Reform Judaism. / I /any of you already know our new Executive Director, Scott Ober. Scott has been very active in our Jewish community for many years. Rabbi Akselrad and I have known Scott for 20+ years and know his level of commitment. We were lucky the opportunity arose to bring him onboard and I am confident that his talents and commitment will become obvious to our membership. (Xie of the projects we have been working on has been upgrading our webcast capabilities. Thanks to Doug Unger for his generous donation of all costs involved in camera and equipment upgrades needed to produce high quality webcasts. We are putting the finishing touches into the "production quality" and will be making arrangements to webcast our weekly Friday night services to senior living facilities around the entire valley. We will be providing prayer books and coordinators at each facility to service the needs of their Jewish residents. Please help us by making sure we know where your senior relatives and friends are living and, if possible, volunteer as a coordinator. It's a wonderful mitzvah we intend to make free of charge to all facilities that participate. The new webcasts will also provide a great service to our membership by allowing out of town family members to view life cycle events live from their homes anywhere in the world. Yes, we are catching up to new technologies. In fact, just recently the URJ has created an Ipad version of our prayer book. It's a great new app which so far includes only Friday night services but is expanding to the entire text. /* /s we hopefully come out of the current recession, we will be making a concerted effort to reach out to those members who chose to leave due to financial circumstances and to finish the work we have begun on our capital campaign and legacy gifts programs to insure the long term stability of our Congregation. There are many ways to help financially and through volunteer opportunities. Please take advantage of these opportunities. The joy of giving and participating is the best part of being a member of Congregation Ner Tamid. ^ihaannk you for allowing me the privilege of being your President, look forward to a great year ahead. 7^'hee year has been one of career highs and career challenges. We have seen the implementation of new initiatives and programs and gone through transition in key staff positions. As my Dad used to say, "Temples never stay built, you have to build them over and over again." It is a constant process of renewal of leadership, both professional and lay; a constant integration of new ideas and a revitalization of tried and true ideas. /) particular I want to remind you about some of the activities that were personal highlights during this past year. In September, I chaired the interfaith observance for the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Held in the grand ballroom of UNLV, we had nearly 1000 people of various faith traditions attend an incredibly emotional tribute to those who died in 9/11. A\ January I was elected by my peers to become the President of the Pacific Area of Reform Rabbis. This rabbinic body comprises over 300 rabbis from the West Coast, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona. This is an incredible honor to have received. In leading up to this position I planned our professional convention held annually in Palm Springs. Our speaker was Dr. Elliot Dorf, a world renowned Jewish ethicist on social and medical issues. , h High Holy Days I launched a new program called "NextGen". This program is staffed by Melissa Lemoine. It is designed to engage the 20 and 30 something's of our community, whether they are affiliated or not. I initially challenged her to get 100 members within the year- a goal she surpassed within three months. There is a steering committee that plans monthly events and has already produced a number of leaders within our congregation and involved people who never would have come to Jewish activities before. Friendships are being formed anew, and friendships from years past are being renewed. One of my proudest moments was when I led a Passover Seder for the group. They prepared everything! They were empowered and involved. Nearly 40 of us had a wonderful time. Please support this program! If you know of someone in this age category, call the office and let Melissa know. /also launched a program of "sacred conversations"; a series of dinners, informal gatherings and conversations at my home and at the temple. Anywhere from 14-20 of us gathered to talk about what it means to be Jewish today, and some of the challenges in raising children, becoming involved in organized Jewish life, and finding our own place in our faith. It has been an incredible experience for me personally as I listen and help facilitate these discussions! If you are interested in being a part of one, please let Beth Bowman, our Program Director, know! / I e also launched the "Early Bird" Shabbat program. Song leaders from our religious school organized by our Cantorial Intern, Philip Goldstein led a unique family style service for parents and students of our school. It was wonderful seeing our young talent and how warm and inviting those special services became. ? As the school year came to an end, we had Confirmation that was exceptional. This was the first class to experience another new program, a trip to Jewish New York City. For four days, I and co-teacher Bryan Kessler led our students on an extremely packed itinerary that took our students from the historic and grandiose B'nai Yeshurun Synagogue to Katz's Deli, the Jewish museum, lower east side, tenement museum, Borough Park Hasidic District and Ellis Island - to name just some of what we did! This trip was made possible through the generous support of the Congregation (thank you for donating to weekly bake sales!!), a terrific parent and student group, the generosity of the Sisterhood, Men's Club, and the Leon H. Friedman Youth Scholarship Fund for Jewish Leadership & Values. This is not an inexpensive trip, and I thank everyone involved for making it happen. yfi the month of May we welcomed our new Executive Director, Scott Ober. Roberta Unger, Linda Rosen, and Lynette Solomon did an incredible job in providing leadership and stability during the past six months while we searched for just the right person to fill this job. Scott brings a wealth of experience as a Principal of the Ober School, Solomon Schechter School, and involvement with the U.S. Department of Education. A long time member of our congregation, and an incredible leader within the Jewish community (he was one of the original founders of the JCC), Scott will do a wonderful job for us. Please note that his position is redefined from past Executive Directors. Half his time will be spent as a Development Director on our capital campaign, endowments and bequests. If you have an interest in any of these areas, please contact Scott. .Zastly, on June 25th we will welcome our new Rabbi-Educator, Sadie Reuben. Rabbi Reuben will bring a youthful, creative, dynamic to our religious school. She is from Phoenix, and so the west is where she feels most at home. She was ordained several years ago from the Hebrew Union College-JIR and has just completed her Masters in Jewish Education from the New York School of HUC-JIR. We are excited to have her come on board and round out our staff. Her service of welcome will be July 13th and I hope all of you will come together to meet her! To my dedicated staff, and our incredible lay leaders-thank you all for your support during this year. We accomplished a great deal, and I know that in the year ahead we will continue to bring new ideas and creativity to our Congregation. I I / / / {(/((SC shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples Isaiah 56:7 Oa/iLxruif/niern P/citL A is hard to believe that another year has passed... "One season following another". When I look back and reflect, I am amazed at all that has been achieved during the past year here at CNT... I love it!!! This year the music department had several wonderful programs. 7x\ January, we once again held a Gospel Shabbat service over the Martin Luther King \ Jr. weekend. The Adult Choir was fabulous and the Shabbatones provided great Gospel accompaniment. We had a wonderful Shabbatones Concert last March 25th. CX jrr Youth Choir sang for The Chanukah Menorah Lighting at The District last December, at our Purim Shpiel and throughout the year on a regular basis for the Religious School Shabbat services plus the Teacher Appreciation Shabbat service on May 18th. A very busy Youth Choir!! April we hosted an incredible concert starring Theodore Bikel and Tamara Brooks. WOW! A we come into the summer months I also want to recognize some individuals for their hard work and dedication. First I want to thank Lillian Kollar for her amazing talents and incredible musical ability. She is one of the best accompanists I have ever worked with and I greatly appreciate her. Thank you so much Lillian! Thhaannk you to the Youth Choir and the Youth Choir accompanist Eddie Birch. They've never sounded better. I also want to thank Lori Frankl for conducting the High Holy Days Teen choir accompanied by Eddie Birch. And speaking of choirs, our amazing Adult Choir deserves a round of applause for their hard work over this past year (since High Holy Days), you all are the best. High Holy Days rehearsals begin July 3rd! A special thanks to John Smith the Adult Choir Director for his wonderful ability to have the choir sounding their best. Thank you to all the choirs. Our Adult and Youth Choirs sang consistently throughout the year. These programs have become well established and we continue to welcome new members and grow throughout the year. Thhaa\n k you to Maxine Molinsky who sings the Friday night services when I am away on vacation. _ must thank all of the members of the Shabbatones band, who volunteer their talent and energy into this program: Ira Spector, Jay Poster, Glori Rosenberger, Alan Molasky, Eddie Birch, (and sometimes Tracy Birch and Matthew Birch too!), Brad Torchin, Mike Adler and our nest members David Weinstein and Gabrielle Giancasparo. Without all of their enthusiasm and hard work, there would be no Shabbatones. We have grown together as a band (more like extended family) and as friends. More music, concerts and special events are planned for the coming year... stay tuned. ,A wa nt to acknowledge the hard work and talents of the people here at CNT. First I want to recognize the wonderful people that we have in the office. Karen, Lynette, Judy and our wonderful CNT volunteers. Thank you all. Thank you to our wonderful Facilities and Catering Director Roberta Unger, Program Director Beth Bowman, and Finance Director, Linda Rosen. 7ww ant to thank Lois Bergman and Ayelet Blit for their wonderful job of tutoring the B'nai Mitzvah students. They continue to do an outstanding job and I continually receive positive feedback from the parents of our students. 'Z'hiisis truly has been a year of exciting growth. I look forward to next year and the exciting musical programming that I have planned. Mark your calendars for October 7th as we will have Doug Cotler in concert at CNT. Thank you to our wonderful Congregation. Without you, none of this would be possible. /, As look forward to another exciting year at Congregation Ner Tamid. We recite the bLs Pnus. essi/tldass it/L es. imagine that you are standing before a King, and he says to you, 'Let me tear Cur I'd ice , Sefer Chasidim 158 halom AIs we move through the slow recovery of our economy, we are pleased to note that our membership numbers continue to hold steady at 673. While it is still true that many of our congregants are on dues relief, we are pleased that we are able to accommodate those in need through the generosity of the "Menorah Level Donors" who voluntarily pay at a much higher level in order to help those who are struggling to pay even a small amount. What a proud tradition our Temple members have established! y]/e began our "year" with two "Prospective Member Shabbat" held in the last days of the summer just prior to High Holy Days when people are generally out "shul shopping." This was followed by two new member events. The "New Member Coffee" was hosted by Lyn & Blake Myers once again, in their beautiful Sun City Anthem home. We also held a "New Member Brunch" in the Temple library. In January, we continued with our "Congregant of the Year" event where we recognize one congregant for their exemplary dedication to our synagogue. This year the recipient was Brett Wachman, an outstanding congregant who is always there to help and so unselfishly gives of his ttiirrppee , energy and resources. /h.heerree were many other membership events during the past year including a "Potluck Jewish Geography" dinner which was great fun and our annual CNT member picnic in the park, which included games, face painting & lots & lots of food! We also have continued our tradition of making twice yearly calls to all of our members at the High Holy Days & Passover. It is so wonderful to hear the appreciation in our members' voices for such a simple act! We man the "Membership Information Table" at every Oneg Shabbat, giving us an opportunity to welcome visitors and answer questions. We manned a CNT booth at the Israeli Independence Day celebration. Most importantly, none of this would be possible without the help and dedication of our committee members. A million thanks to all of you for helping make us look so good all of the time!! You are all part of the reason our synagogue is "A SPECIAL PLACE TO BELONG!" Committee Members Fay Schoenfeld Marlene Acosta Abby Zeldin Lyn Myers Carolyn Friedner Arlene Kalodner Jennifer Bruce Congregant of the Year Brett Wachman S (yciaf/\cluMs The Social Action Committee plans and coordinates various projects and programs for the community. The Social Action goal is to provide meaningful ways for congregants to engage in Tikun Olam, repairing the world. This past year Tc^ua/ Cj/ztm took the form of: Providing shelter, food, and comfort for 12 families without homes through our participation with Family Promise. Hosting Card Board City to bring awareness of homelessness. High Holy Days Food Drive to benefit Jewish Family Services. Mitzvah Day in which hundreds of our congregants came together to perform a wide variety of mitzvot. Projects ranged from making blankets for those in need to removing unsightly graffiti, making lunches for the homeless, providing 3 tons of food for the food bank and preparing hygiene packs for those in need. Providing Chanukah gifts and baskets for those in need. The McCaw School project which assists the teachers and administrators at the school and collection of much needed items for the school and the children, including school supplies, clothing, sneakers and socks. Providing a Social Action Seder for those in need who may not have the resources or ability to have a Seder otherwise. Launching Team Mitzvah which is a new program of social action teams that are dedicated to responding to needs within the community. The teams of volunteers representing CNT participate in various social action activities and respond to emergencies within the Las Vegas Valley community. 'T;hhee SJ ocial Action Committee is always looking for meaningful projects for our congregants. Learn more about social action at Congregation Ner Tamid at www.cntsocialaction.com Social^Action Committee Cindy Jensen, Chairperson Leslie Jensen Carolyn Friedner Helen Mazor Donna Higo Elaine Reininger Phyllis Ruth Hoffman Fay Schoenfeld Carol Holdengraber Leo Schoenfeld Arlene Kalodner "The world is sustained by three things, by Torah, by worship, and by loving deeds. " - Pirke Avot Chesed Committee r/he Chesed (Caring) Committee is a group of wonderful members who reach out to our CNT congregants and extended Jewish Community in several ways to bring cheer and support! We have received responses which indicate that our mitzvot are appreciated! 45 - 50 Holiday Bags for Rosh Hashanah and Pesach were distributed to congregants in the hospital, nursing homes, rehab centers and private homes; 50 cards were mailed to additional congregants. For Chanukah and Purim, 90 cards were mailed so people know that we remember them. College students were sent a gift package to help celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah, Purim, and Pesach. 6 - 1 2 p ho n e c a l l s o r c a r d s a mon t h we r e mad e t o c o n v e y c h e e r . Additionally, over the year, 50 - 60 letters of condolence were sent. 5 - 10 visits a month were made to hospitals, nursing homes/rehab centers, and private homes. The Committee received several monetary donations which allowed us to fi irH oomo of 01 ir mit7*/ot anrl for \A/hirh Chesed Committee Members Shirley Kouffman, Chairperson Arlene Cohen Florence Cohen Louis Cohen Bernie Deutscher Phyllis Ruth Hoffman Lyn Myers Judy Schneider Elaine Siegel Ellen Sonenthal Bette Stahl Cyan/ am ana llivf / a a mli an ( an/ir "And you shall teach them to your children.." V'ahavta 'e just finished celebrating the 5th year of The Gary & Lynn Kantor Early Childhood Education Center. Some highlights of this past year were: A total of 80 children attended our preschool, ages 18 months to 5 years old. A total of 48 children attended our summer program Tot Shabbat has never been better. An average of 35-40 families attended every month. (Thank you, Sisterhood, for funding this wonderful program). Our Pre-Kindergarten students and the 55+ Seniors Social Group had a number of programs together. It was wonderful seeing the two different generations spending time together! Our fundraisers were very successful. There was our Little Hands, Big Heart Gala, a booth at the Chanukah Bazaar, creating and selling our very own Kantor Early Childhood Center 2012 calendar, and of course, our weekly challah sales for Shabbat. The children learned about and participated in many Jewish holiday celebrations. They attended Children's Services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, decorated the Temple Sukkah, marched through the building with their Simchat Torah flags, lit the chanukiyah and made latkes for Chanukah, planted trees and flowers for Tu B'Shevat, dressed up and paraded for Purim, entertained their families at our Pesach Model Seder, and sang Happy Birthday while eating birthday cake for Yom Ha'atzmaut. The children are beginning to read, add, subtract, and learn how to take care of themselves. More than anything else, though, they LOVE coming to school! 7.hhee fK antor Early Childhood Education Center staff and volunteers need to be recognized and commended. Without them, our school would not be what it is. The teaching staff is: Teresa Owens, Odelia Duhel, Nicole Fletcher, Shawna Witt, Ellen Jones, Rinat Shapiro, Jodi Kurtzman, Dolly Farrow, and Sandy Stewart. Our wonderful volunteers are: Ellen Sonenthal, Maxine Gratz and Ann Sandell. Amy Levitus kept our office running and the parents happy! / l/'ee' mmui st recognize our amazing Early Childhood Education Committee led by Jodi Kurtzman, whose caring, passion, and leadership is surpassed by none. Her dedication to our school has led this incredible committee in achieving so much in such a short time. The ECEC Committee members are: Michelle & Jeff Hirsch, Kathy Torjman, Mario Solomon, Nicole Steidel, Marcy Kulic, Odelia Duhel, Amy Clune-Castaneda, Kris Powell, and Lauren Vogel. We also appreciate and thank CNT Board's Vice President of Education, Jacky Rosen, and our Board liaison, Julie Barto-Fisher. We will forever be indebted to them both for their encouragement and compassion. Lastly, we want to thank Dr. Gary & Lynn Kantor for their vision and on-going support. Fomlu/ Com^ciuhv OA. ostering relationships and communication among families while supporting religious education. Programs for the 2011-2012 school year: Fundraising: Family Connection organizes two main fundraisers per year. During the fall students sold Entertainment Books. The books were available for sale in the school office, main office and Sisterhood gift shop. 98% of the students who sold books donated their award prizes to Family Promise. The Entertainment Book fundraiser netted a profit of $1,245.00 for the religious school. The spring fundraiser centered on the Passover holiday with students selling Haggadot, Barton's Candy and MazelToff Candy. The Flaggadah fundraiser net was $242 and the candy sales combined net was $1,085.50. Room Parents: Classrooms from grades K-8 had assigned room parents to assist the teacher with organizing activities within the classroom and for the school. The room parents communicated with the other parents in each classroom so that all were kept abreast of activities affecting their children. Early Bird Shabbat: Parents of early elementary school students developed an idea to expand Tot Shabbat for older children. Rabbi Akselrad developed the program for age specific services (K-3 and 4-6) and the Early Bird Shabbal was born. Purim Carnival: The biggest program Family Connection organizes is the annual CNT Purim Carnival. Members of the committee organized the raffle baskets, games, food vendors, bazaar vendors and publicity. The committee worked closely with teachers, staff and room parents to obtain volunteers to set-up, run each grade level game booth, oversee the outside vendors and clean-up. The Purim Carnival net was $3,162. Active members of the committee: Jacky Rosen - Vice President of Youth and Education Debra Gorov and Rob Levrant - Co Chairpersons Nancy Carney David Abrams Cheryl Kranitz-Dykes Rachel Gewelber-Williams Julie Pearlman Michael Mehr Jennifer Wood Rebecca and Scott Jackson Melanie Freidman Jana Pleggenkuhle Lori Barnes Lisa Glasser Nanette Wachman Elissa Cadish Dana Seaman Shawna Brody Joy Striano Suzanne and Richard Goldstein Juliana Goldberg is too easy to dwell on what was or to remain locked into ones' past. For Jewish education to succeed we must look to the future through the lens of the past. We cannot and must not live in the past, as it was and will not be again. We learn Torah and pray daily to renew each day the work of creation. rn our religious school we attempt to plant the seed that will grow a life-long learner, one who realizes that for American Judaism to flourish it must be nurtured throughout ones' lifetime. In the beginning, it is new and exciting, over time material, text, study can become tedious. When we encounter "the wall" we must overcome it and renew our commitment to our growth and our capacity to enrich our understanding and knowledge of who we are as individual Jews and as a Jewish community. F~Is Reform Jews, we are committed to an evolving understanding and practice of what being Jewish is and means. Success in this endeavor requires the engagement and commitment of the entire congregation and in fact, the wider local and national Jewish community. Our future, if we dream it requires it, be so. / 1/hat we were and what we are can be the foundation upon which we build toward tomorrow. We need leaders of vision, dreamers like Theodore Herzl who told us, "if you will it, it is no dream to build a homeland of the Jewish people" - that dream is now reality. Orjr students and our school rests on the work of our teachers in cooperation with parents who implant in their children the "fire" to learn and live Torah. Songwriter Dan Nichols does this with his song, "Sweet as Honey" - Sweet as honey is Torah on our tongue. 'Ziis has been my passion during my tenure with our students, our teachers and our school. fwish you all well in the days to come. ^^bbi Leonard Zukrow " / like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past. " Thomas Jefferson (American 3rd US President, (1801-09). 'Z.hiiiss facility has been our home for 5 years. How fast time passes! Our remarkable Building & Grounds committee is an amazing asset to the upkeep of Congregation Ner Tamid. Having the advantage of involvement from a dynamic team, such as we have, ensures the integrity of the building continues to meet code regulations set by the city of Henderson, state of Nevada and the federal government. /^/onitoring our grounds is an ongoing process. The site is walked daily and is under constant video observation. Minor concerns are resolved immediately. Others require input from our Building and Grounds committee and are handled appropriately. Roberta Unger V.hhaannk you to our committee along with our Facility Staff, Bryon Parker, Billy Escobar & Lee Posey, for an outstanding job of keeping CNT in excellent condition. '/hose of you who drive past our facility frequently can attest to the fact that our parking lot is always busy. CNT is fortunate to host many events for own congregation and many additional programs that benefit our community. Our Facility Hosted: Committe Members Daryl Alterwitz Jim Mason Rich Perlman Rafi Gafni Jon Sparer Jordie Primack Eastside home of the JCC Twice Monthly Senior programs Monthly meeting of Jewish War Veterans Adult Education Classes Enrichment classes for pre?school aged children Touro University Pinning (Graduation) Ceremony Weddings, Renewal of Vows B'nai Miztvot Baby Namings I Bris Ceremonies Kiddush Luncheons Hosting Family Promise three times during the year Seven weekly community support group meetings NFTY Fall Kallah Life Line Health Screening JFSA Project Ezra Workshop Yeshiva Day School CNT Movie Nights Passover Seders Brit Ahava Chanukah Dinner JA/aMS 7L ^he c etuis .he goal of the Ways & Means committee is to create ideas, encourage participation, generate donations and oversee the fundraising events throughout the year. Our fundraisers are an important part of the total budget of the Temple and greatly augment the ability for us to continue to provide all of the religious services, programming, facilities, staff, and day-to-day operations. We rely on a select number of fund raising events each year. The Kol Nidre Campaign was successfully chaired by Dr. Gary Kantor and Bruce Matza. Our Women of Valor Gala honored Judge Elissa Cadish, Lexy Capp and Tricia Kean. Our very special evenings with Theodore Bikel and his talented wife, Tamara Brooks were exceptional events and very successful fundraisers. .Special thanks to everyone who contributed time, money and energy to make each of these events a special and successful occasion. 'T.hhiiss past year was busy for the Ritual Committee. Our Saturday Morning Tanakh study and Minyon are both experiencing increased participation. As in years past we continue these programs: Tashlich Service at Sunset Park on Rosh Hashanah afternoon; Sukkot dairy potluck dinner; an enthusiastic Simchat Torah; a creative Shavuot program; a Religious school student driven Purim Shpiel as well as S'lichot services. a,jr b iggest project this year was to repair two of our Torahs; one sofer repaired parchment seams as well as faded text, another repaired dowels and faded text Other Torahs are in need of repair. We will continue Torah repairs as funds become available. /Ljpp ily three of our Ritual Committee members are performing Shabbat Services twice a month at Homes for the Aging. The folks there are so appreciative and look forward to their special Shabbatot. /4s VP of Ritual, I salute all of our members for their time and devotion to all our projects. -Del Acosta, VP Ritual Committee Members: Marlene Acosta, Sid Barasch, Lori Flectcher, Carolyn Friedner, Marilyn Goldstein, Jeff Jonas, Arlene Kalodner, David Linefsky, Cathy Linefsky, Maxine Molinsky, Richard Naft, Pam Poster, David Stahl, Betty Stahl, Vivian Van Dizem, Sheryl Webb. Prtfdn 'Z.hiee tp rogram department works as a liaison between our local community & committees within our synagogue to help develop and facilitate programs and events. Here are some of our highlights of the year! Season of Music and Performance which included the Ballet Mink. Gospel Shabbat, Klezmer Shabbat, the Jewish Film Festival presentation of Joanna, King Solomon performed by Marcus Freed, Theodore Bikel concert and parlor event Faces of Israel: A Discussion About Marriage, State, and Religion in the Jewish Homeland - Co-sponsored with the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas Invisible Children - Co-sponsored with NTTY 9/11 10th Anniversary Remembrance Event at UNLV Participated in a 5 week Hebrew program ?Read Hebrew America/ Canada 3rd Annual Jewish Book Festival with Mark Ribowsky author of Howard Cosell The Man, the Myth and the Transformation of Sports. Community wid