Nominations for Beit Rayim Board of Directors 2010/2011
Terri Binder My family and I have been members of Beit Rayim since 1999, and we are extremely fond of the congregation and its leaders. I have three children: Savannah (15), Julian (13), and Toby (10), as well as a wonderful husband, Howard. I don’t know of any other congregation that is as warm, welcoming and inclusive as this one. At Beit Rayim, I have previously served on the Israel Action Committee, the Choir, and recently the Black and White Gala Committee. Outside the synagogue, I served on the Executive Board of Thornhill Nursery and Preschool for 2 years where I held the position of Secretary. I enjoyed having a hand at shaping school policy and working together with other board members on behalf of the non-profit school. Having 3 children currently enrolled or already graduated the Leo Baeck Day School, I have volunteered in numerous positions throughout our eleven years at the school. Since 2008 I have been a member of the Thornhill Secondary School Council where I cochaired a fundraising committee along with my husband.
Andrew Charron My name is Andrew (‘Andy’) Charron. Attached is my nomination form to sit as a member of the Board of Directors of Beit Rayim Synagogue for the coming year (5771). I have been a member in good standing of Beit Rayim since September 2006 (5767). My children have attended Beit Rayim’s Hebrew School program since September 2000, and on March 29, 2008 my son Adam was Bar Mitzvah at the Shul. My daughter Ophira (‘Orion’) looks forward to her Bat Mitzvah on April 30, 2011. I attend Saturday services regularly, and am proud to be an engaged member of the community. This past year I sat on the Mesorah committee, and I’ve been grateful for the opportunity to get to know many of the active members of our Shul and to have gained an appreciation of the formidable work they do. I wish to serve on the Board of Directors to help shape our congregation for the future. Beit Rayim, as a conservative egalitarian congregation, holds a unique position in our Jewish community, and I would be honoured to play a part in meeting the challenges it faces in building, growing, and changing in uncertain times. I bring honesty, integrity and dedication to the task. I believe in a Shul that belongs to the congregation; I believe in inclusiveness and open communication; I believe in a group conscience that speaks through trusted servants, in concert with our common Jewish precepts and just governance. I champion responsibility, accountability and transparency because each member of our congregation deserves nothing less from our dedicated officers. I want to sign up for our Tomorrow.
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Nominations for Beit Rayim Board of Directors 2010/2011
Stephen Cohen
Ronda Goldberg My family and I have been members of Beit Rayim Synagogue & School for the past 14 years. I was the President at Beit Rayim for 4 years 2000-2004 and I was also the Youth Director at the synagogue for several years. I have volunteered on the Hebrew School Committee, Fundraising and Membership Committees and the Building Committee. I rejoined the board last year after a taking 4 years off my volunteering at the shul. I have also volunteered at the Public School, Venture Park and other organizations. My main motivation for pursuing a position on the Board of Directors is to find a permanent home for our congregation and ensure that our shul remains a special place in the community that is welcoming and haymishe. I am a graduate from the Schulich School of Business at York University with a major in Marketing. I think that with my past work experience, education and involvement with the synagogue for many years, I will be able to contribute to the boards ability to make good decisions to meet our future goals as an organization.
Jeff Grosman I have been a member of Beit Rayim since its inception over 15 years ago. I have been an active member of the Executive and Board for virtually all of these 15 years. I have served as Membership Chair, Treasurer, Chair of the Building Committee, Editor of the Bulletin, Chair of the Comedy/Auction events, High Holy Day Committee Chair and Fair Dues Committee Chair. I have also authored many policies and brochures, including the Fair Dues polices and application forms, membership information and renewal packages, and the Welcome to Beit Rayim pamphlet that was distributed on Shabbat to guests. I was honoured with the Volunteer of the Year award in 2004. There is no denying that our organization is experiencing some significant challenges. While I feel that it is vital for the organization to nurture and encourage participation from as many members as possible, I also feel that it is now, perhaps more than ever, very important to be able to provide the leadership with a perspective that can only be gained through sustained and diverse involvement with Beit Rayim. I would be honoured to have the opportunity to once again participate in leading our ‘House of Friends’ into what I believe can and will be a bright and lasting future.
Ken Gutman
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Nominations for Beit Rayim Board of Directors 2010/2011
Shelley Isenberg My family joined Shaareh Haim (predecessor to Beit Rayim) because it was important to raise our children with a Jewish identity (culture, religion, history & tradition). Now my wife (Jody) and I want to increase our own Jewish identity and I also want to enrich the opportunity for others in our community to do likewise. Last year I recognized that if I wanted to get more from our shul and have an impact I needed to get involved. Since last fall I have become very active on the Board and Management Team (building and governance). I have a BA & law degrees and was Secretary for public companies for 13+ years. In addition, I have strong business skills; over the last 7 years I have been responsible for global acquisition programs for large international firms and I am currently active on a board of a US company. My CV is available on linkedin.com . It is up to those entrusted with setting the future direction of our shul and its management to do our best to ensure it grows as a leading provider of Jewish services in Vaughan. I have a lot to contribute and appreciate the opportunity to continue what I recently started to do to help Beit Rayim.
Sam Kishinevsky Alan Lechem Alan and his wife Ruth have been active members of Beit Rayim for over a decade, and have celebrated the bnei mitzvot of their children Cobi, Lara and Yaelle, and many other simchas with their siblings, who are also members. Beit Rayim is one of the main pillars of our Jewish life and provides an enthusiastic and dynamic environment for our family. Alan has a degree in Engineering and an MBA, and runs a business which distributes wood products and components to many countries. During Alan's tenure as co-chair of the Israel Action Committee, Beit Rayim won the prestigious Solomon Shecter Silver award for Israel Affairs. Alan currently serves on the advisory board of the Resource Training and Leadership Centre, and co-chairs the Campus Affairs Committee, both of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Toronto. Alan has been active in fund raising his entire adult life, and often speaks for Israel Bonds during High Holiday services. In addition, he has completed the "Wheels of Love" fundraising ride 3 times for the Alyn Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital in Jerusalem. His wife Ruth Ekstein is also a very active member of the Jewish community, having chaired the UJA Walk for Israel, March of the Living, and many other events. It is our hope that Beit Rayim will be the place where we can have an impact with our volunteer work and help provide Jewish continuity.
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Nominations for Beit Rayim Board of Directors 2010/2011
Larry Miller My wife Amy and I joined Beit Rayim Synagogue in 2006. I was asked to join the Board of Directors and the Leadership Team in 2009. After an initial role with Adult Programming, I took over the responsibility of Communications which includes the Beit Rayim Bulletin, Website, Shabbat flyer and the weekly E‐blast. In this capacity I have done my best to provide our membership with accurate information about the many events and program’s our congregation schedules, as well as important news from the Jewish community at large. I feel that my educational background (MBA), and my many years of business experience as a senior manager, have prepared me to assist our organization as it works to fulfill its long term objective of a permanent home and a thriving membership. As a regular worshiper at our Shabbat and holiday services, and a member of the High Holy Days’ Committee, I also understand the importance of Beit Rayim as a religious organization, having the resources and personnel to meet the spiritual, life cycle, and pastoral needs of our members. I seek to be reelected to the Beit Rayim Board of Directors on May 26th, so that I can continue to help our organization achieve its goals and objectives.
Irv Siegel As President I am very proud of the many accomplishments we achieved this year. We organized the largest and most successful fundraising event ever in our history. There were many successful programs that were well attended. More of our members were involved in volunteering this year than ever before. For the first time in four years we have shown a surplus in our budget. The Board has focused on reducing financial barriers for entry with the hopes of connecting more of our community to synagogue life. We are putting together a Team of individuals for this year’s Board with strengths in leadership and the skills needed to realize our goals. We have a commitment from UJA for rental space in the new JCC on the Lebovic Campus. This year’s High Holy Day services at CHAT will be very exciting with Rabbi Moshe Edelman leading services along with our Cantor, Eli Bard. As President (1997-1999) we had unprecedented membership growth. My volunteer history includes CHAT Board Member, Medical lead for Special Olympics, USY International Conferences, and others. Business experience includes President of a public biotech company and CEO of a Clinical Research Organization. I look forward to another successful year on the board at Beit Rayim.
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Nominations for Beit Rayim Board of Directors 2010/2011
Helen Smolkin Helen is a founding member of Beit Rayim Synagogue and School . In December of 1976, together with her husband Bob and 4 other families, she started the Richmond Hill Jewish Community, which eventually became Shaareh Haim Synagogue, and in 1992, Beit Rayim Synagogue and School. Over the years, Helen has been instrumental in starting the Synagogue's Supplementary Hebrew School and being its chair, heading the Adult Education Committee, Membership as well as organizing Family oriented Friday night services, led by her son, Mitch. As a Board member of Beit Rayim, she is involved in outreach, representing Beit Rayim at the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto, and she also sits on the Board of Womens' League. When not doing shul business, Helen is an elementary school teacher.
Chuck Ticker A founding member of Beit Rayim Synagogue, Chuck served as a member of the synagogue board and executive for several years and is a past president of the synagogue (1995-1997). He has served on several synagogue committees. He has been a co-chair of the former Ritual committee, chair of the first Israel committee formed to celebrate Israel’s 50th Anniversary and has been chair of the Cemetery Committee since the synagogue’s inception. Chuck has regularly led the Preliminary services and acted as Gabbai on Shabbat and can be called upon to do a Haftorah at the last minute. He is a past recipient of the Judy Stein Volunteer of the Year Award. Chuck also does volunteer work for Out of the Cold serving meals to the homeless and delivers food packages to needy Jewish families on behalf of the National Council of Jewish Women. His passion is playing keyboards with his band “The Faded Genes” for various charity events. Chuck is a lawyer with a practice focusing on estate litigation and mediation.
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