Meeting minutes include reports from committees of the board, correspondence, and balance sheets.

In this interview, Arlene discusses her family and important friendships; her relations with and impressions of the disparate Las Vegas Jewish communities; the meaningful ways her Jewish relationships in Duluth, Winnipeg, and Las Vegas intertwine; her theatrical, professional, and philanthropic work; the reasons she and Jerry became active Zionists; and their support for Israeli causes. Her liberal sprinkling of Yiddish terms enriches her speech as it exemplifies her deep cultural attachment to and identification with her Jewish heritage, despite the fact that her wide and diverse circle of friends remains predominantly non-Jewish.

Actor, director, friend, mother, producer, wife, and volunteer extraordinaire Arlene Piekoff (now Blut) arrived in Las Vegas in 1971 with two young children and husband, Michael Peikoff, who was opening a surgical practice. Arlene was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, where she attended a Conservative Jewish temple but had mostly non-Jewish friends. She met Michael at the University of Minnesota, and they married before he began medical school in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Arlene and Michael followed his residencies and fellowships to California, Michigan, and Manitoba before they came to Las Vegas Through her brother in law and Ayn Rand?s intellectual heir, Leonard Peikoff, Arlene was exposed to Ayn Rand Objectivism, a philosophy that still influences her political outlook. After her 1975 divorce she began working at the Jockey Club; founded the Meadows Playhouse, Las Vegas?s first professional black box theater; and started Renta Yenta, the valley?s first full-service event planning business. In 1980 she married tax attorney Jerry Blut in a Renta-Yenta-produced, Fiddler-on-the-Roof-themed wedding at Paul Anka's Jubilation Restaurant.

In this interview, the Straus? discuss the joys of growing up in Las Vegas during the 1960s and 1970s, and the changes within the community over time, especially in educational opportunities. Both talk about Joyce Straus? career as artist and art educator, and the influence she had on their lives. They also remember Heidi?s father, Jay Sarno, and the impact he had on the local gaming industry. There is also discussion of the founding of Congregation Ner Tamid, the role of Jewish women?s philanthropy within the community, as well as the establishment of The Meadows School.