1. Call Meeting to Order - Steven Feitelberg. 2. D Var Torah - Rabbi Burrows and Cantor Tiep

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1 1. Call Meeting to Order - Steven Feitelberg 2. D Var Torah - Rabbi Burrows and Cantor Tiep 3. Approval of May 15, 2012 minutes 1st motion, 2nd motion, vote 4. President s Report: Year in Review: I am so proud to be representing you as president of Temple Solel as I complete my first year. I am so fortunate that my family chose to be part of the Temple Solel family. The Temple Solel family is ever growing and we have amazing choices that facilitate our learning and volunteer opportunities. We have an outstanding board, dedicated committees and our professional clergy and staff with whom I have really enjoyed working with this year. We said a sad farewell to Rabbi Brown and welcomed Rabbi Josh Burrows along with his Cantor/Rabbi wife, Gabi Arad, and their 2 beautiful daughters to our family. After an excellent search process, Rabbi Burrows joined our clergy and he has become very involved in our Temple. The board terms for Kelley Berman and Erica Siegman have expired and I want to extend my deepest thanks to them for their excellent service to our Temple Solel family and continued support to us. Our High Holy Day services were beautiful and ran smoothly. You all responded generously to the Yom Kippur appeal, which raised more needed funds than ever before. Our clergy led us in a variety of Shabbat and holiday worship services throughout the year. I want to acknowledge Cantor Tiep for his inspiring artistry and the many thoughtful new programs he created with Rabbi Frank.

2 Our committees were also hard at work all year and introduced some amazing programming. Our membership has been maintaining well and we are currently at about 835 households. We have an active preschool, religious and Hebrew school, and amazingly active youth programs. We have faced challenges with our infrastructure computer systems with 2 servers dying, decaying fiber optic and our dated switching. We are in the process of moving to Cox Communications who will supply us with high bandwidth speed Internet. I wish to acknowledge Judy Bricker for coordinating and running many fabulous programs and for the following report. Social Action had a banner year beginning with our back to school drive. We chose to help children and their families at San Onofre Elementary School, which serves the military community on Camp Pendleton. School supplies were generously donated by our congregants to assist these families. Next was our Thanksgiving Basket drive in which Rise Edney broke the record of the most packages donated from any location. Temple Solel congregants donated 215 packages that were given to the Jewish Family Service Hand Up Food Pantry for local families. Lastly, we were proud to host for our 19th Interfaith Winter Shelter. Bundles for Babies has continued to collect gently used or new items for a baby's first year, and distributed the items to mothers in need in our community. Adult Education offered special guest speakers on both Erev Shabbat and Sunday mornings. We welcomed Rabbi Miri Gold, Risa Levitt Kohn and Dr. Joyce Antler. Rabbi Burrows led a monthly discussion for our seniors on Jewish Hero s & 2

3 Heroines. We also took trips to Jewish Tijuana and Libya for our Foreign Foods and Film series. Our lay-led Torah study minyan continues to grow for our 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month. We offered adult modern Hebrew classes, yoga for moms, Havdalah Nights Antique Appraisal show, Nosh & Drash, as well as concluding our two year Adult B'nai Mitzvah program. Many thanks to Laura Jucha for continuing to coordinate our Havurah groups as well as keeping us electronically connected via Facebook. The following is her report. It was also a very successful year for our award winning Temple Facebook page, which was formed 3 years ago. Our Facebook community is growing by leaps and bounds. We have grown to 591 followers. We have an active fan base of people who post, participate by liking and commenting and send me article ideas and pictures to post. We have really seen our online community come together at important and meaningful times. We have without a doubt made a difference. Through Facebook we have helped gather baby clothes for our bundles 4 babies program and helped a family in need with a quick post for help. By sharing community news we were able to get a new refrigerator donated to the HandUp Food Pantry. Facebook has been very helpful in soliciting volunteers for different projects. Laura is looking forward to continuing to grow the page and continue developing the online community. I offer my deep thanks and appreciation to Joan Tedlow and Eva Lynn Diesenhaus. The library has experienced increased revenues from their ongoing used book sales on the rolling carts outside of the library. We have two active book clubs that meet each month in the afternoon and evening. 3

4 Our Kadima committee prepared and launched the 2013 membership satisfaction survey.the staff and board take these surveys very seriously and work closely together to utilize the results for change which resulted in the membership committee under Board member Sherwin Chasen who have and will be instituting many programs to ensure a welcoming and supportive Temple Solel to all our members and potential members. We are also so fortunate to have Ellen Fox as the religious school director and the following is just a few school highlights from this year: A rabbinic student from Hebrew Union College brought the Yanov Torah to Solel from Los Angeles. Ellen Fox told the story of how the Yanov Torah pages were secretly sneaked into a concentration camp one page at a time under the men s clothing. Agnes Herman, author of the children s book, The Yanov Torah, told the story of how she and her husband bought the Torah many years ago from a Russian immigrant. The rabbinic student unrolled the Torah and students were able to see the parchment pages. Solel students were taken on an educational journey that began with imagining a group of people 3,500 years ago who were being horribly mistreated, who then took a stand against their oppressors and bravely journeyed into the unknown with faith that they would have a better life. The connection was then made that Shavuot falls alongside American Memorial Day and that America was founded by those with faith to stand up for religious freedom. A Veteran from the Paralyzed Veterans of America by the name of David Smith then spoke to the students, emphasizing his service of helping others while in the military and after. The students learned a valuable message 4

5 of acceptance and humility, of social welfare, loving kindness, and the determination to do what is righteous. To conclude, the students (along with David Smith) built individual "Mt. Sinai Ice Cream Sundaes" on which each of several toppings available represented a core value taught in the Torah that we celebrate on Shavuot. The 6 th graders Skyped twice with a 6 th grade class in Shaar HaNegev, our sister city in Israel. During the first call, the students asked each other questions about their lives. During the second call, the students watched a Matisiyahu You Tube video, took part in a discussion about the song, and then performed skits, poems and dances for each other about their interpretation of the song. The two classes are now partnered up to be pen pals with each other. Families participated in Mitzvah Day, where they helped at the following venues: Seacrest Hebrew Home, San Elijo Lagoon, Humane Society, VA Spinal Cord Unit, Moonlight Beach (cleanup) and next door at Belmont Village th -10 th graders attended the Temple Solel Retreat at Camp Mt. Chai, where it snowed for the second year in a row. All had a good time! Penny Cohen and Marilyn Price, two fabulous storytellers, performed for the K-3 students. K-8 Religious School Dinners were attended by at least 100 families each. The students participated in services following the dinners. The Purim Carnival was a lot of fun. We added many activities for older kids. 5

6 1 st graders participated in a Making Olive Oil program. They made olive oil, which was then poured into a chanukiah and lit for Chanukah. Kindergarteners participated in a Matzah Factory. They made their own matzah. The K-3 and 4-6 Model Seders were wonderful. Many parents joined us. Many families attended the community-wide Yom Haatzmaut Celebration in La Jolla. Art projects, live music, and Israeli food were just some of the incredible activities at the festival. Hineynu, was busy as usual, and is always here to meet the life cycle needs of our Temple community. The committee is so dedicated and I thank them all. Some of Hineynu s activities and accomplishments are: Providing meals for congregants during times of illness or bereavement Providing transportation for congregants in need Planting trees in Israel in memory of congregants or family members of congregants Sending Mazel Tov cards for births, b nai mitzvoth and marriages Sending cards in times of illness or bereavement Making phone calls during times of illness, bereavement, injury, etc. 6

7 Providing Temple Solel with healing tapestries Providing Temple Solel with a magnificent display case for the healing tapestries Creating an emergency /telephone tree contact list Holding a workshop to create new tapestry squares Inviting a Jewish Family Service representative to attend meetings Inviting the Early Childhood Center director to attend meetings Initiating enhanced publicity options Hineynu began some of their monthly meetings with a D Var Torah The Hineynu informational tri-fold was updated A Healing Service facilitated by Rabbi Burrows and Cantor/Rabbi Gabi Arad was well attended in helping our community living with loss. With special thanks to David Levy for keeping our Brotherhood engaged on the following activities: Purim Carnival - Hot Dogs & Drinks, and volunteers for other functions HHD Parking Building the Sukkah The annual Sukkah sleepover David is stepping down and we have an opportunity for leadership in this area. 7

8 Sisterhood: We are so fortunate to have a dynamic leader in Jami Shapiro who has transformed sisterhood. The following are what was accomplished this year. The year began with a "Welcome to the Temple" breakfast for preschool parents. Sisterhood had some very successful events and have started some ongoing programs including: Rosh Chodesh Luna Fest Chocolate and Chit Chat Sushi in the Sukkah Mah Jong and Menorahs LunaFest which resulted in additional sleep-away camperships for some of our students Next year, Sisterhood will join the Women of Reform Judaism and become a dues paying Sisterhood. Our Sisterhood has a self appointed board as well. The goal is to join all generations of Temple Solel women in being more connected to the Temple community and their Judaism. (We are open to non-members of the Temple as well.) Our Early Childhood Center under the talented leadership of Cathy Goldberg has continued to grow and flourish this year. The new Kindergarten class has 9 children. The year began with 114 preschoolers and 29 children in parent participation classes and has grown to 130 preschoolers and 41 children in parent participation classes. The parent committee has continued to grow with many new and returning participants. Parents attended the monthly meetings and helped organize family events. The Hannukah party was a huge success attracting temple and ECC families and some non- 8

9 members too. Big school events were Snow Day, Ladies Who Lunch, 2 nd year of Kindergarten and the new 18-month old toddler program. The 11-week preschool, Camp Solel continues to grow and the families and staff are looking forward to another fun filled summer. Our Youth Department is led by Craig Parks. Youth Kavannah is an 18 piece band with a new CD. The Teen Shabbat Jam Friday night Shabbat Service regularly attracts high school students to their monthly services. Olim has been active with over 100 participating teens this year and the NFTY So Cal region has an Olim member on regional board. The Tikkun Project has helped feed and clothe many impoverished Southern Californians with its multitude of Jewish Service Learning projects. Camp Simcha continues to be a popular and joyous place for both our campers and a place where our high school students and returning college students come to staff and connect with their Judaism. The monthly lounge nights for 7 & 8th grades have been very successful. Overall our youth programs are strong and are continually referred to by other congregations and the URJ as a true model of success. 9

10 We were blessed with successful HHD and year-end appeals, as well as the fabulous Gala under the leadership of Mindi Frankel and Sheryl Seltzer. We were able to raise a record amount of money to support our services and programs. In summary, Temple Solel enjoyed a great year, but unfortunately, and as you all also know, we had our most challenging financial year to date. We started the year quite concerned about the impact of the difficult economy on our bottom line and on our congregants. We utilized some significant measures to correct the problems. We worked doubly hard to trim expenses and equally hard to fundraise. Every senior staff member was tasked with cutting expenses, including things like electricity and supplies, and every staff member was tasked with raising money as well. Additional savings included retiring 2 positions. Our financial aid is still at 35% and this results in about $400K in financial support this year, which is quite a drain on our budget process. Our budget and finance committee will continue to work with staff and board, to brainstorm revenue enhancement projects and goals that will help us meet our needs. We are revamping the Circle of Honor and thank Mindi Frankel for spearheading the process. We anticipate a better year ahead, and hope that we can reduce our financial aid with the slowly improving economy. Finally, I would like to recognize and thank our Executive Director, Robin Rubin. Robin has an extremely high emotional intelligence and her love and dedication to our Temple Solel Family is deeply appreciated. 5. Budget Presentation; Glenn Goodstein 10

11 Call for a motion, 2 nd, discussion, call for the vote 6. Board Slate- Steven Feitelberg Returning board members - Debby Buchholz, Sherwin Chasen, Dr. Steven Feitelberg, Mindi Frankel, Glenn Goodstein, Dawn Grossman, Jamie Rodin and Michael Russell New board members Jordan Berman and Darryl Gordon Motion, 2nd, discussion, call for the vote 8. New Business/Adjourn 11

WELCOME TO M KOR SHALOM!

WELCOME TO M KOR SHALOM! Our Community Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you can take the next steps with us. Our welcoming and diverse community includes: Jews raised in Reform, Conservative,