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President's Message
June 2008

Looking Back and Ahead

A few months back, I wrote a column about how quickly time passes. As I sat down to write this month's column, I suddenly realized that despite my perception that I have just assumed my office, I have actually nearly completed a full one-year term as this community's President. If KM honors me with another term, I am at the half-way point of my tenure.

We have had a successful year. We increased our membership and were blessed with a fruitful fund-raising cycle. As always, we were blessed with interesting and entertaining lectures and other programming. We solidified our weekly Shabbat Club Program so that we consistently have two youth programs, Shabbat Club and Tot Shabbat, every Saturday.

We have discussed, and will continue to discuss, the location and physical set-up for KM for the next 25 years. We have identified Sharlene Lauretz as our next Executive Vice President and my likely successor for the 2009-2010 Presidential Term.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we have ensured that Rabbi Michael Gotlieb will be with us for the foreseeable future. Our community should justifiably be proud of these accomplishments.

I would like to thank a number of people for helping me to do my job over the past year and helping our community to continue to thrive. First, our past four presidents: Sandy Rosenblatt, Richard Krop, Jack Topal, and Sharon Krischer, have provided me with invaluable advice and considerable volunteer time.

Having already completed much work for the proverbial King and Country, such individuals could have rested on their laurels. In fact, Sandy Rosenblatt has been serving as our Vice President for Ways and Means, Chaired the Nominations Committee and became our De Facto Chair of the Renovation Project.

Jack Topal currently serves as Chair of our Building Committee and Sharon Krischer continues to serve as Chair of our Strategic Planning Committee.

I also thank our Executive Committee: Executive Vice President Brana Hall, Vice President for Membership Susie Yuré, Vice President for Education Marcia Greenberg, Vice President for Religious Practices Charlie Goldsmith, Treasurer April Peterson and Secretaries Michael Sopher and Sharlene Lauretz, as well as the entire Board of Trustees.

I would especially like to thank our clergy and professional staff, Rabbi Michael Gotlieb, Hazzan Keith Miller, Executive Director Kathie Rose, Administrative Assistants Rose Piccirilli and Rosa Averbukh.

Their intellectual and spiritual support provides me with the confidence to continue to handle the daunting, yet rewarding, task of helping to run a synagogue. We would not have had our successes without all of the foregoing individuals' selfless contributions.

Most of all, I would like to thank the entire KM community. I am thankful to be your President, but even more to have a social and spiritual home in this community of caring, intelligent and observant members.

I look forward to the next year as your President, and the next 40 as a member of this community. May God continue to bless all of us.

Jamie Green
President