State of the Federation

April 10, 2023

Jane Schiff, Federation Board Chair

This is the year that the dream of a home for Federation, WCA and MCA came true! We opened the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center on Jan. 15, 2023. The punch list is close to being finished. Certainly, by next season, all the signs will be installed and the other loose ends will be in the rearview mirror.

I have heard so many compliments about the building from insiders and visitors alike. The two best indicators for me are: 1) the building is currently being used by 500 to 1,000 people a week; and 2) at least three times a week, usually more, our members bring their out-of-town guests through the building to “show off.” Impromptu meetings and hangouts happen daily. And one day, when there was a hiccup in one of the rooms where a meeting was supposed to happen, a meeting I was in was moved upstairs to the very little conference room. The fact that we were able to shift around and use space that was available is just one example of the versatility built into the plan.

Although it has been said many times, without the village that was engaged in making this dream come true, we would still be dreaming. First and foremost, thanks to our donors. Steve Saks and Steve Iser, who gave the funds for the campus and building, and respectively led the parade of more than 650 donors. There is, of course, still more money that we would like to raise to secure a larger endowment that will help pay for the ongoing building maintenance costs.

The team that was involved in the actualization of the building was the best! Led by Marc Saperstein and cochaired by Merlin Lickhalter, the Building Committee consisting of Nat Ritter, Steve Iser, David Braverman, Sam Roth, Steve Strome, Bill Petasnick, Marcy Friedland, Brian McKenzie, Jane Schiff, Jeffrey Feld, James Knafo, and Deborah Fidel and Ed Alexander, both from Temple Shalom, came together every three weeks for about 18 months to decide on details such as if we should have artificial turf in the courtyard, which tile to use in the loggia, etc.

In December, the House and Grounds Committee was populated and is now responsible for the day-to-day issues that come up. Until becoming Board chair, Nat Ritter chaired that committee with Max Weisberg, Bill Goldman, Merlin Lickhalter, Sam Roth, Steve Iser, Ben Post, Jane Schiff, Phil Zoltek, Jeffrey Feld, Marc Saperstein and James Knafo. And since I mentioned James Knafo, I must tell you that he went above and beyond what an architect would normally do. His design is fabulous, open, light, warm, welcoming and joyful.

DeAngelis and Diamond construction company was the absolute right choice for this project. And Chris Fitzko, the job superintendent, was wonderful to work with, especially since there were so many of us asking for favors and wanting to bring people through. I obviously do not know all the subcontractors or workmen/workwomen on the job, but I see the finished product and know they did their best.

Wegman Design group was terrific. Their designs and suggestions of furnishings and furniture were right on target. The Art Acquisition committee, headed by Merlin Lickhalter, chose David Hess as the artist for the two major pieces of sculpture — the chanukiah in the outdoor patio and the welcoming yellow, red and orange piece in the lobby. Didi Sweet donated her time to help with the framing of the new and existing art as well hanging it all.

The village worked hard and long. They took the funds you so generously donated and made our Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center a thing of beauty and our home.

Nothing happens without the staff being involved every step of the way. So, I want to acknowledge our fabulous staff. Jeffrey Feld is our president and CEO. He directs and oversees it all. He was on every committee for the building and still did all the other things he handles on a daily basis, with the help of a very competent staff.

Our Program Director, Reneé Bialek, is the force behind events. She staffs our Jewish Book Festival, the IAC (Israel Advocacy Committee), JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Council), Jewish Singles, Jewish Professionals, CatholicJewish Dialogue, Yom Ha-Shoah, Jewish Day of Learning, and more.

Alicia Feldman works in the program area, exclusively on the PJ Library program. PJ Library families have been enjoying and using the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center just like us older Federation members. It is so much fun to go see the little ones playing and laughing in the outdoor patio and BBYO lounge.

Marcy Friedland left in early April but was our FRD (Financial Resource Director) throughout the year. She was part of the building committee and worked on the Capital Campaign from the start. As FRD, she ran the Capital Campaign, Annual Campaign and Planned Giving. We wish her well in her new endeavors.

Courtney DeVault is our accounting manager and is now fully integrated into our team.

Phil Zoltek is our facility manager. On top of changing rooms to fit the needs of the next group coming in, he manages all the working parts of the building. So many of you have mentioned how grateful you are that he not only does so much, but he also is easy and pleasant.

Eduardo Alverez, Michelle Cunningham and Janine Hudak do the administrative jobs, greet us all, answer the phones and, in general, help us when we need help.

Without the staff, nothing would function. Please thank them and be kind to them. They are so important to us all.

Ellen Weiss is the Executive Director of the Tampa Orlando Pinellas Jewish Foundation. TOP is our Endowment/Planned Giving Department and works with us and our donors. While not an in-house member of our team, TOP manages all our endowment money and helps donors meet their philanthropic goals with a variety of platforms such as donor-advised funds and charitable remainder trusts. If you are interested in learning more, you can reach Ellen Weiss at 813-769-4785 or ellen@topjewishfoundation.org.

The staff is joined by our volunteers. The Board of Directors, all of us volunteers, have been a very special group this past year. So many of our leaders have been leaders in other walks of life and bring a plethora of skills and loads of energy. The many committee members, committee chairs and volunteers for each event make me marvel at the level of commitment I see daily. The hours and hours of volunteer time that are expended on behalf of our Jewish community is the reason, along with our exceptional staff, that we are growing, thriving and successful. On the board level, we have standing committees that oversee the business end of the Federation — the Allocations, Governance and Nominating, Finance and Audit, and Development committees are the backbone of our organization.

The group that guides in financial decisions is the Finance and Audit Committee, which oversees all our budgeting and issues relating to administration and controls. Elliot Lerner, as Treasurer, and Steve Strome, as Finance and Audit Committee chair, lead this committee and oversee it all. We again had a “clean” audit from the independent auditors. This group planned for our move with great attention to detail. It was their urging that helped us reach out to our donors and ask them to pay their Capital Campaign pledges early. By doing so, we have saved many thousands of dollars in interest expense. And their estimates of costs to run our operation in the new Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center has allowed us to understand the implications of the move.

Governance and Nominating Committee is chaired by our immediate past Board Chair, Alvin Becker, and cochaired by Amanda Dorio. They make sure that we operate according to the rules set down by our bylaws and find us wonderful new Board members.

WCA and MCA have programs 24/6. There is no way to mention all their offerings. They currently have a combined membership of over 2,500 members. The growth and vibrancy of both organizations produce pride and a specialness to our Jewish Naples community that is the envy of many, many Federations. Both groups are utilizing the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center on a daily (except Saturday) basis. The building was designed and built with these two groups in mind. The leadership — Patti Boochever of WCA and Michael Sobol of MCA — work with their boards and other volunteers to create the programing. The programs each organization offers, as well as the joint programs, are the underpinning of our Jewish community. It is their programming that drives new people in the community to seek us out and join our community.

Other groups that hold meetings to study, play and share their Jewish Naples connections include the Cardoza Society for lawyers, the Jewish Russian Cultural Alliance, Jewish War Veterans, Jewish Singles, Young Jewish Professionals and Young Jewish Families. Each group has programming that meets its needs. And each group has volunteers who create the programs with Bialek.

Year seven of The Jewish Book Festival was started online, then moved into the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center in addition to being online. In other words, it was a hybrid. Gayle Dorio, as this year’s chair, was aided by a plethora of volunteers who chose the authors, introduced the authors and helped whenever and wherever needed. Each author talk was unique. Some showed presentations, some talked in conversation with a moderator, and all brought their own perspective.

Our yearly Chanukah Celebration was at Mercato, as the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center was not quite ready. The guess is that close to 1,000 people showed up. And the weather cooperated! The Israel Advocacy Committee, chaired by Harvey Cohen, presented many events. Like the book festival, IAC events started on Zoom and transitioned to the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center once it was ready.

The highlight of the IAC year was the Israel @ 75 celebration on March 26 chaired by Michael and Tracy Askotzky, and Cathy and Phil Zaks. With an estimated 500 people in attendance and many organizations having displays, along with Israeli dancing and food, it was an incredible event.

Also in full gear was the Jewish Community Relations Committee, chaired by Jeff Zalasky. The Catholic-Jewish Dialogue was chaired by Luba Rotsztain and is now chaired by Leslie Wasserman and Marty Gauthier. It had many small group discussions on various topics, sponsored a community-wide Kristallnacht Commemoration spearheaded by Ginny Segaloff, and topped off the year with Rabbi James Rudin. The Antisemitism Task Force chaired by Joel Pittelman, another subcommittee of JCRC, pointed out known issues that occurred in our community. And on March 30, we heard from community leaders about the direction of Naples at our Jewish Day of Learning.

Our Stand Up for Justice Committee chaired by Beth Povlow identified SUFJ Award winners Susan Bobrow; Camiriia Jones, Ph.D.; Pamela Schram; Brandy Williams and Jamie Flatley. Liz Jaffe and The Human Needs Committee selected two nonprofits, Sage House and Café of Life, as the Human Needs Award winners.

Raising money in order to service the needs of the community is what we do with the help of these volunteers: Rosalee Bogo and Michael Sobol (Major Gifts), Peggy Brown (Pomegranates), Gail Smith, chair and Estelle Price, cochair (Lion of Judah), Alvin Becker and Michael Suffian (Joshua Society), Michael Sobol (King David Society), Michael Rubinstein (Ben Gurion Society), and Harvey Cohen and Cheryl Ginsburg (General Division). Our goal for the Annual Campaign this year is $1,650,000. As of this article writing (March 30, 2023), we have raised $1,334,000.

Our new Power of Community Award, to recognize an agency, congregation, community organization or person which has demonstrated a strengthening of partnership and cooperation in the community, went this year to Irv Povlow, who served for many years on the Collier County School Board calendar committee. In that role, he was able to get Collier County to include our High Holy Days as days off for school, thus allowing Jewish students to not be penalized for being Jewish.

Allocations is the term to describe where your dollars go. Preschools; summer camps; seniors, especially Holocaust survivors; Jews with economic difficulties; education to surrounding communities, especially middle schoolers, about the Holocaust and its underlining message of antisemitism; education and cultural events for our community; and the many needs overseas are our allocations. We try to highlight each of these areas through articles and programs that create a pride of our Jewish community. We thank Jay Weiss and the Allocations Committee for their diligence in making the recommendations. The process of allocations is currently underway, and the Board will vote on the Allocations Committee recommendation at the June Board meeting.

The Annual Campaign allows us to function in all aspects — allocations, administration and programming that occupies more and more of our Federation life. Jewish Federations were founded for the express purpose of raising money to take care of the needs of Jewish people locally and overseas. Money raising and allocating those dollars has been the traditional model that Federations have operated under for well over 100 years in the U.S.

However, times change. Community needs are different in different locations. This community needs connections to each other. We all moved here from somewhere else. We have all made wonderful new friends through the Federation, including our programing and our wholly owned subsidiaries WCA and MCA. We are not like any other Federation. We are a very special Federation; a place to make our philanthropic goals reality, a place to make friends, a place to grow culturally and intellectually and a place to feel part of a community.

Thank you for reading this very long, very fact-filled article. Thank you. You are a valued and valuable member of our community.