Temple Beth Ami’s annual congregational meeting has been changed and is now Tuesday May 27th at 7 p.m.  Please mark your calendar, schedule the event in your smartphone or other device and attend this meeting.  I am of the opinion that if we don’t vote in elections and we don’t make time to attend important meetings then we have no standing to argue about the decisions that are made by our elected representatives.  After all, as I have said many times before, this is our shul and our community.  We need to make an effort to stay active and involved in it, or don’t be surprised if the lights are not on one day….

With that said, we are two months from ending the 2013-2014 fiscal year and we are closing out the year in a very positive way.  We have our annual poker tournament that Chaz Peretz and Mike Schoenwetter are promoting on May 3rd (it's not too late to sign up) and our Men’s Club led by Rich Tabach is promoting a “Comedy Night” on May 24th.  Rena Slabich, our Havarah coordinator is having another  Havurah Havdalah at her house on May 10th at 6 p.m. or all those persons looking to join a Havurah.  For more information please contact Cathy Syzfer, our synagogue administrator.  Additionally, our Sisterhood, led by Jennifer Ihrig along with its strong supporting members have stuff always going on and to see what they have scheduled please see http://www.templebethami.org/sisterhood-updates.html. 

As I was writing this article and reviewing the TBA website,  I was reminded that we all owe a big thank you to Greg Gelberg.  Greg, for as long as I can remember, has worked endless hours supporting our requirements as the TBA webmaster and he had done an outstanding job.  We all appreciate you Greg.

Wrapping up this article I want to remind you to vote for your next board of trustees, approve the budget for 2014-2015, attend the annual meeting and the board meetings and stay involved.  For a small congregation we sure have a lot going on.  There is something for everyone and if there is not, then step up and champion your idea.  More than likely there are other members that have the same interests as you.  The more we have going on means the more congregants that be involved and the net result will yield a stronger and more vibrant Temple Beth Ami community.

L’Shalom,

John Stulman

Temple Beth Ami

President

Temple Beth Ami.  Three simple words, but put together mean so much to so many of us.  Don’t they?

As I started to write this article I was sitting in an airport in Phoenix waiting for my connection back to Los Angeles.  Early this week I was on the other side of the country attending a dear relative’s funeral; a very untimely death.  A young man at 65 years old.  A man in perfect health, a nice business and a wonderful wife and family.  Gone.  Just like that.  No medical explanation.  No good reason.  Very sad and tragic.

Although I was family, I had a unique perspective.  I am sure all of you have had at one time or another that experience while attending the event, but I really knew very few people.  I was able to participate as a family member yet watch everyone as an outsider.  What I noticed was how lucky my relative was because he had so many family, friends, business associates and fellow congregants attend his services.  He was a rich man in many ways.  We should all be as fortunate as he.

The Rabbi, a young fellow about 31 years old, did a wonderful job for each service, just like our Rabbi Blazer does.   In the evening after the services ended I introduced myself to the Rabbi.  I told him I was impressed how he handled himself … for a 31 year old Rabbi.  We shared a few chuckles.  Naturally, I asked him how his congregation was handling the current economic environment and he advised that they were having the same issues many other congregations were having.  For example,  maintaining membership, trying to determine the right membership model, how to increase revenue and reduce expenses without cutting important programs that affect the entire organization and finally how to meet their annual budget. I was somewhat surprised because these are the same issues TBA is addressing and working through.  Believe this or not, based on my conversation with this Rabbi and our own Rabbi, TBA is doing a very good job managing itself in many ways now, especially, financially.  We are, at this time, within our budget and if we all do what we promised we would do at the start of the fiscal year, we will end the 2013-2014 fiscal year within budget.  

Now for some big news that I have been waiting to tell you for some time now, because the transaction has been completed.  I am very proud to say that we have refinanced our property. The refinance will save the congregation about $9500 annually.  It is my intent, as I promised you during High Holidays, to pay down our debt with this savings.   Thank you’s are in order for our Treasurer Jennifer Ihrig and Dan May.  Dan’s 11th hour expert assistance and critical support were essential in seeing the transaction through.  Additionally, the refinance could not have been completed without the guidance, assistance, patience and of course the money of the Bank of Santa Clarita whose team worked with us through the long and arduous process.  

Even though I was not able to attend the event, my sources reported to me that the Purim Carnival was a success.  I would be remiss if I did not thank Debra Block and her Purim committee for a job well done!

Even though we may not see eye to eye all of the time, I consider myself a very lucky person to be part of our congregation.  As I sit here finishing this article I am constantly reminding myself how fortunate I am, we are, to have the community we have, the loving family and friends that we have, the clergy that we have as well as staff that we have.  We really do have a lot to be thankful for during this time of Passover…





L’Shalom,

John Stulman

President





PS.  If you’d like see TBA provide a service or function and would like to champion the idea, please let us know.