Click here to view pdf version of Phase II results.

Click here to view a draft version of the Temple Sinai Stategic Plan.

Temple Sinai Board of Trustees Meeting 2/22/18

Board Members Present: Grace Bach, Jeff Lavenhar, Wendy Vean, Bruce Tully,
Barb Lettes, Sandy Korn, Vicki Goldman, Frank Urman, Amy Rittenberg, Kathy Zeiger, Jen Feingold, Lane Feingold, Gene Rosenthall

Staff Members Present: Lorne Maltenfort, Dan Yolles, Karen Kirk, Marissa Vaughn,
Julia Teitell, Lisa Thorner, Sheila Nesis

Guests: Elise Kaplan, Adam Kaplan, Evan Slater & Adrienne Greenberg

Larry Jacobson called the meeting to order at 6:35 P.M. It was noted that a quorum was
present. Rabbi Susan Rheins delivered the D’Var Torah. Frank Urman requested that two changes be made to the consent minutes from the board meeting on 1/25/18. A $32,272 liability was created because the Zwerin Endowment experienced a reduction in value from its initial investment. Frank expressed that the staff was been unable to produce an accounts receivable aging, so this was the process used. With the above changes to the minutes, Jen Feingold moved to approve the minutes, Bruce Tully seconded the motion. Lorne Maltenfort presented a resolution to the Board to approve Temple Sinai’s participation in Live On/LIFE & LEGACY program, a partnership between Rose Community Foundation and the Harold Greenspoon Foundation. This is a two year program which will support Sinai Circle.
Anyone can make a legacy gift to Temple Sinai. Michelle Weinraub made a motion to approve the resolution, Lane Feingold seconded the motion. The board had discussion regarding the motion. Point 4 of the resolution was clarified regarding reporting to the board four times per year. This reporting will be used to insure that the Board is actively engaged in the program. Clarification regarding the program’s goals was requested. The Temple sets its own goals. The current goal is to add thirteen new Sinai Circle members this year, and fourteen new members next year. The motion passed as presented.

Frank Urman presented the treasurer’s report. The Temple had a net cash balance of $298,571 as of 1/31/18. Karen Pawlek is in the process of making year-end adjustments. These adjustments include $130,000 which will be moved from the general fund to various Special Purpose Funds. The BOF account was approaching $400,000. Due to the balance in the account, it was determined that at $200,000 principal payment to the loan should be made. This payment was made on 2/21/18. Frank reported that the management letter for the audit has not yet been received from Jeff Cohen. Jeff recognizes that he needs to provide the management letter to the Temple. In addition, Jeff Cohen has volunteered to work with Karen & Lorne on a new chart of account for the statements beginning 7/1/18. A new chart of accounts will make the next audit more efficient and will create more professional financial statements. Karen Pawlek is in the process of hiring an additional employee for the accounting
department.

Julia Teitall reported that the Youth Group is taking over the Purim Carnival this year on 3/4/18. She asked the board to volunteer and donate.

Lorne Maltenfort presented the revised organizational chart. The Director of ECE, Director of Education, Director of Youth, Director of Programming and Controller are all considered to be equal. The Assistant Executive Director position and Music Engagement Educator position were raised in the organizational chart because they may be involved in life cycle events and work with the clergy. The senior staff levels are a product of the current by-laws. The staff-on position is used so that staff represents the Temple during life cycle events. Lorne would like to have more employees share in the staff-on responsibilities. Staff-on is based upon job descriptions. Sheila Purdin, the new ECE Director, will have staff-on responsibilities. Jenn Feingold moved that the organizational chart be approved based upon the approval of the job descriptions at the next board meeting on 3/22/18. Frank Urman seconded the motion. The motion passed as presented.

Frank Urman reported that the BOF committee has met to discuss raising money to obtain the $350,000 matching gift. The committee determined that comprehensive data regarding who has donated to BOF, what pledges are still outstanding and what naming rights may still be available is necessary in order to formulate a plan. Karen is working to obtain this information. The committee has been working on various ideas to raise money including additional naming rights, selling seats in the sanctuary etc. Possible assessments of the congregation have also been discussed. The committee plans to bring recommendations back to the board.

Lane Feingold presented the Strategic Plan Draft to the board. Michelle Weinraub moved to approve the Strategic Plan Draft to be presented to the congregation for feedback. Frank Urman seconded the motion. The board discussed various points of the plan, including providing excellent and meaningful education. Frank called for the vote, and the motion passed as presented.

Vicki Goldman asked the board for their support on the Annual Event. The board members received a folder which included 3 forms for silent auction items, the sponsorship and tribute journal information and table captain forms. It was requested that all board members obtain three silent auction items, bring a bottle of wine and become a table captain.

Sandy Korn and Barb Lettes reported that the social action committee held their first meeting. They decided on a Temple wide social action project that focused on hunger. The Temple is partnering with Jewish Family Services (JFS). JFS will provide bags with lists of items needed for the food pantry. The committee will be working with Aubry regarding PR.

The new member dinner will be held on 2/23/18. There will be seventeen new families
attending. The Todd Siler art show will be held on 2/24/18. The Rabbis’ Haggadahs with Todd Siler’s art will be available for sale.

Grace Bach reported that the Caring Committee will be holding a Kugel cook-off on 4/29/18 from 12:00-3:30.

Sandy Korn and Barb Lettes reported a special Shabbat service and dinner will be held on 4/20/18 to celebrate Israel at 70.

On 4/17/18 the Temple will be hosting Yom HaZikaron.
Temple Sinai will be hosting the first community-wide Yom HaShoah service on 4/11/18.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 P.M. for Executive Session.

Temple Sinai Board Meeting 2/13/18

Board Members Present: Lane Feingold, Michelle Weinraub, Larry Jacobson,
Barb Lettes, Sandy Korn, Wendy Vean, Grace Bach, Jeff Lavenhar, Vicki Goldman,
Jen Feingold, Bruce Tully, Kathy Zeiger

Staff Present: Lisa Thorner, Jody Meyer, Rabbi Rick Rheins, Rabbi Susan Rheins,
Sheila Nesis

Guests Present: David Frieder, Jeff Robbins

Larry Jacobson called the meeting to order at 5:35 P.M.
Rabbi Rheins delivered the D’Var Torah
The sole purpose of the meeting is to discuss the strategic plan. The goal is to have the draft of the strategic plan ready for the board to present to the congregation for their feedback. Once the congregation has given their input, the strategic plan will go back to the board for final approval.

The board discussed the entire strategic in detail. As changes were discussed and agreed upon, Lane Feingold wrote them into the strategic plan document. The newly revised strategic plan draft will be sent to the board for their approval at the next board meeting 2/22/18. The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 P.M.

Temple Sinai Board of Trustee Meeting 1/25/18

Board Members Present: Lane Feingold, Jen Feingold, Michelle Weinraub,
Amy Rittenberg, Bruce Tully, Frank Urman, Larry Jacobson, Gene Rosenthal,
Wendy Vean, Karen Kaplan, Vicki Goldman, Kathy Zeiger, Barb Lettes

Staff Present: Rabbi Rick Rheins, Rabbi Susan Rheins, Lorne Maltenfort, Karen Pawlak, Jody Meyer, Lisa Thorner, Julia Teitell, Marissa Vaughn, Dan Yolles

Guest: Jeff Cohen CPA

Larry Jacobson called the meeting to order at 6:35 P.M. It was noted that a quorum was
present. Rabbi Rick Rheins delivered the D’Var Torah. Larry Jacobson thanked Mark Meyer for his service on the board, and expressed his hope that Mark will continue to serve on the Finance Committee and will volunteer in other capacities. Mark will no longer serve on the board of trustees, as his wife Jody, has become a full-time
employee of the Temple, with her new position of Interim Director of Religious Education. Per the by-laws, a congregant may not serve on the board, if their spouse is a full-time employee. Shirley Beer-Powell has resigned as Temple Sinai Sisterhood President. This resignation is in turn a resignation to the Board of Trustees. Larry Jacobson thanked Shirley for all of her contributions.

A motion to approve the consent agenda was made by Frank Urman. Jen Feingold seconded the motion. The motion passed as presented. Frank Urman introduced Jeff Cohen CPA, who prepared the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending 6/30/17, for Temple Sinai. Frank expressed that the process to be able to present the audit has been very long. The time Jeff has taken to prepare the audit has been more than two times what he had originally budgeted. There were many hurdles that needed
to be overcome in order to get the final draft of the audit. Frank thanked Jeff Cohen, Karen Pawlek and Lorne Maltenfort for the efforts regarding the completion of the audit. Jeff Cohen thanked the Temple for the engagement to prepare the audited financial statements. Jeff discussed that the financial statements belong to Temple Sinai and the Temple is responsible for the presentation of the statements. In the Opinion Letter, the auditor expresses an opinion regarding the representations of the audited statement. The audit was prepared under GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). The auditors test various aspects of the financial statements to determine if they fairly represent the financial condition of the organization. The audit for the fiscal year ending 6/30/17 received a non-qualified opinion. Therefore, it was a clean audit.

The following are the highlights of the audited financial statement dated 6/30/17. The
statement of financial condition, or balance sheet, includes the unrestricted funds, temporarily restricted funds, endowments and JIFL. The recap of the Temple’s statement of financial condition includes a total of $787,000 in cash, $385,000 of which are restricted funds, most of which are restricted for the purpose of paying down the mortgage. Accounts receivables total $596,000, $385,000 of these receivables are restricted to pay down the mortgage. Investments total $1,063,00. $943,000 of the investments are endowments and $55,000 of the investments are unrestricted assets. This results in $839,000 available for operations. The liabilities include the $2,200,000 mortgage, a $246,000 loan which was money borrowed from Special Purpose Funds for operations. There is a plan in place to begin paying this money back. There is $139,000 in the due to, due from temporarily restricted funds account. This is an accumulation
of money which was donated to Special Purpose Funds, but the money was not moved from the general account to the Special Purpose Funds Account. There is a $50,000 receivable from the endowment. This is not a loan, it is a due to, due from account. A $32,272 liability was created because the Zwerin Endowment decreased from its initial investment. This occurred from the downturn in the stock and bond market. This situation has improved significantly from $108,000 one year ago. The statement of activities, or income statement, reflects a net loss of $13,000 on an accrual basis.
The Building Our Future receivables have been re-categorized for the 6/30/17 audit. The prior auditors felt that after the building was occupied, that the receivables should become unrestricted. The current auditor has moved the BOF receivables back to temporarily restricted, as it was determined that the intent of the donors was that their donations to BOF were for the sole purpose of the construction the building and for paying off the loan on the building. The statement of cash-flows reflects a $13,000 decrease in assets. When depreciation is added back in, the Temple generated $605,000 in cash. With that cash, the mortgage was paid down by $492,000. The footnotes of the audit reflect the nature of the organization, the accounting policies used for this type of organization. In addition, the footnotes reflect more specific breakdowns of various categories in the statement of financial condition. Note 4 provides a breakdown of the
categories of accounts receivables, their respective allowances for doubtful accounts and their net balances. Lane Feingold mentioned that the allowance for doubtful accounts was large relative to the gross receivables and he inquired as to how the allowance was determined. Frank Urman said that the receivables for dues allowance, was based upon looking at the previous year’s balance and compared it to the current year’s balance, and if it was unchanged, the account was placed in the allowance. The receivables for the religious school and preschool were determined to be doubtful based upon their month to month activity. BOF accounts with no activity were placed in doubtful accounts. Frank expressed that Karen wasn’t able to produce an accounts receivable aging, so this was the process used.

Note 13 in the audit provides an analysis of the Special Purpose Funds. Jeff Cohen plans to address the Temple’s processes & procedures in his management letter regarding the
depositing of money in the SPFs and releasing the expenses from the SPFs. As the process of movement of money in and out of these accounts has not been consistent.
Note 16 addresses the prior period adjustment regarding the movement of the cash and
receivables which were pledged to Building Our Future from unrestricted to temporarily restricted, based upon the donors’ intent for their donation to be applied to the construction of the building and the repayment of its mortgage. Lane Feingold asked what adjustments will be made to the financial statements as a result of
the audit. Jeff Cohen responded that the net adjustments will be $369,000. At the beginning of the audit, the trial balance reflected a net income of $434,000. After the adjustments, the net income was $65,000. Frank responded, that the goal is for the accounting department to produce accurate financial statements, so that large adjustments are not required. Frank is confident in the current staff and their ability to produce accurate financial statements. There is a significant amount of work to be done to implement systems, processes and procedures to produce more efficient and accurate financial statements. When Shul Cloud was implemented, the old and new
systems were not run simultaneously. The errors that occurred with the transition to ShulCloud, as well as, adjustments that were not made on a regular basis have created this large adjustment. The Building Our Future Fund was tracked on a spreadsheet, not in the accounting system. These issues will be addressed with accounting procedures and an accounting manual. The accounting systems and procedures will be brought up to 21 st century standards. The management letter prepared by Jeff Cohen will highlight the deficiencies.

Karen Kaplan made a motion to approve the audited financial statements dated 6/30/17. Wendy Vean seconded the motion. The motion passed as presented.
Jen Feingold asked if the current budget should be adjusted based upon the results of the audit. Frank Urman expressed that he doesn’t have confidence in the monthly financial statements relative to the budget. Frank has been, and plans to continue to manage the financial condition of the Temple on a cash basis. Currently the cash positon is $237,000, less $51,500 in payable, resulting in $185,500 in net cash. This cash position will be watched to insure it remains stable throughout the remainder of the year. The cash and receivable balance of the BOF will be audited to verify the balance.
Jody Meyer asked if it is a conflict of interest if the auditor is also a congregant. Frank
responded that this issue was discussed with the audit committee, and it was determined that Jeff’s resume and reputation in auditing non-profit organizations, far outweighed the negatives. In addition, CPAs are held to professional standards and are reviewed to insure they are meeting those standards. Jody also inquired if the Bank is aware of this situation. Frank will disclose this information to the Bank.

Lorne Maltenfort recapped many of the great accomplishments over the past year:
1) Built a strong, dedicated staff, including a new Director of ECE starting on April 1 dt. Dan Yolles is now a full-time employee. A national search has begun for the position of Director of Education.
2)Organizational chart and job descriptions have been completed,
3) Four successful Shabbat Summer Series programs were held,
4) The Slices program drew 120 participants,
5) Two successful Campfire Shabbats have been held,
6) The religious school has been rebuilt, and Jody Meyer is the new Intereim Director of the Religious School,
7) The first young professional program was held, and three more are scheduled,
8) The very successful scholar in residence program was held. This was the first one held in nine years,
9)Lifelong Jewish Learning is thriving,
10) On 2/24/18 the Temple will holding an exhibit of Todd Siler’s art,
11) The annual event will be held on 5/5/18,
12) The Temple will be participating in the Rose Community Foundation’s stewardship program,
13) Temple hosted its second youth group Chavurah,
14) A new PR director was hired and is keeping the Temple’s social media up to date,
15) A new employee handbook has been written,
16) Membership records are being audited,
17 )Financial statements are more accurate,
18)The Temple is in the process of being rebranded with a new logo, new colors and and updated website.

Larry Jacobson presented the organizational chart and job descriptions which are included in the board packet. He expressed that these are living documents that may change as feedback from the staff is received and as jobs evolve. It was pointed out that the Cantor should be added on the music engagement educator’s job description. It was also mentioned by Barb Lettes that there are many director positions. Per the current by-laws, all of these positions have the word director in the title. In addition, these titles provide the opportunity for promotion to senior director. It was discussed that the director position speaks to the fact that the employee is managing activities and people.

Dan Yolles expressed that he feels that his position should be a director position based upon his job description. He also is interested in running the young professionals program. He feels that the activities he is involved in are equivalent to the Director of Youth’s activities and therefore he should also have the title. There was also discussion regarding whether he and Julia Teitell should share the job regarding young professional programming.

Lorne Maltenfort asked that this discussion regarding employment issues be tabled at this time, as it is not an appropriate discussion in front of the staff.

Lisa Thorner mentioned that in the organizational chart it appears that Marissa Vaughn’s position is equal to the part-time administration position. This adjustment will be made to the organizational chart to move her up on the chart. Marissa Vaughn asked for the part-time administration position to be a full time salaried position. Lorne Maltenfort requested that this discussion take place at a later date.

It was also mentioned that on the organizational chart, the controller, director of programming and director of education should all appear on the same line. The job description for the Director of Education, as well as, the position on the organizational
chart was presented to the board. Jen Feingold moved to approve the position and the job description for the Director of Education. Karen Kaplan seconded the motion. The motion passed as presented.

Larry Jacobson reported that the BOF mortgage has a balance of approximately $700,000 after BOF cash balances and pledges. An anonymous donor would like to donate $350,000 as a matching gift in order to pay-off the mortgage. Therefore, the congregation needs to raise $350,000 to obtain the matching gift. Larry suggested that the congregation be assessed $300 per family over three years. Larry reported that a large percentage of the congregation has not made any contribution to BOF. The board discussed the pros and cons of an assessment. It was decided that a committee would audit the BOF records to determine what percentage of the congregation has contributed. Frank Urman agreed to chair the committee.

A draft of the strategic plan has been presented to the Executive Committee. With feedback from the EC, the strategic planning committee will work on a final version to present to the EC and then to the board. The goal is to have an approved final version to present to the congregation in March along with the Listening Campaign Phase II results. A board meeting solely dedicated to the strategic plan will be held on 2/13/18 at 5:30 P.M. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 P.M.

Board Members present:
Larry Jacobson, Gene Rosenthal, Jen Feingold, Michelle Weinraub, Amy Rittenberg, Kathy Zeiger, Frank Urman, Wendy Vean, Vicki Goldman, Karen Kaplan, Bruce Tully, Bob Steine, Sandy Korn, Barb Lettes, Lane Feingold

Staff Member present:
Julia Teitell, Karen Kirk, Rabbi Susan Rheins, Rabbi Rick Rheins, Lorne Maltenfort

Guests present:
Suzan Markman, Linda Stein, Susan Crager, Steve Sussman, Jennifer Abrams

Larry Jacobson called the meeting to order at 6:34. Larry noted that a quorum was present. Rabbi Rick Rheins delivered the D’Var Torah.

Linda Stein, Susan Markman and Susan Crager made a presentation to the Board for a project proposal requesting that Temple Sinai sponsor and support involvement in the Hour Community Interfaith Timebank. The Timebank is designed to benefit Colorado based refugees and immigrants, including, in-sanctuary individuals. Volunteers provide services to the refugee and immigrant community and bank hours for their service. In turn, the immigrants and refugees provide services they may have to offer and bank time for their services. The example given of this was that a refugee needs tutoring, so a volunteer of the Timebank provides tutoring. The refugee can, in turn, provide babysitting services. This project would start small with four organizations, including potentially Temple Sinai and twenty volunteers. The board determined that additional review of this organization, how the Timebank works and how the Temple would participate and/or be involved with this organization requires further review. After further review, the board will respond to this request in January.

Larry Jacobson reported that there is a finalist for the Director of ECE position. Jennifer Abrams, a member of the search committee, presented the credentials and the type of individual the committee was looking for. The candidate needed to have ECE credentials and experience in working in Jewish education. They were looking for someone who could help bridge the preschool to the religious school and the Temple as a whole. The resume for Sheila Purdin was presented to the Board. Sheila has extensive experience in Jewish ECE. The committee felt that she understands the importance of the preschool’s connection to the larger Jewish Community. Sheila is currently working with the curriculum that Temple’s preschool uses. The committee felt that she understands the parents’ perspective and needs, as well as the teachers’ perspective and needs. The committee felt that Sheila Purdin was the right candidate to take the preschool to the next level. Sheila is also a board member of the URJ. Karen Kirk, the current interim Director of ECE, expressed her confidence in Sheila as our new Director of ECE and that the state of the preschool is strong. If approved by the Board, Sheila would start somewhere between April 7-15, 2018. Karen will continue to work in the preschool until Sheila starts. Karen also plans to be a substitute teacher, when needed. Karen Kaplan made the motion to hire Sheila Purdin. Kathy Zeiger seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Larry Jacobson introduced Steve Sussman, the co-chair of Temple Sinai’s endowment. Steve and Ray Smith are the co-chairs of the committee. The committee consists of Frank Urman, Wendy Vean, Larry Jacobson and Lorne Maltenfort as ex-officio. The endowment was established at the outset of Temple Sinai 50+ years ago. Several years ago, $150,000 was raised through a matching program with Rose Community Foundation. Due to the fundraising for BOF, raising funds for the endowment was put on hold. The Temple has an opportunity through the Grinspoon Foundation and Rose Community Foundation to apply for a 2-year program which helps organizations establish plans, incentives and best practices for their endowment program. Currently only 8% or 9% of Temple Sinai’s congregants have made a pledge to the endowment. The endowment is important for the future of Temple Sinai and Reformed Judaism. The deadline for the application is 12/8/18. The Temple is prepared to present its application for the program. The Board agreed that the Temple could benefit for the program and that we will submit an application. The sessions for the program begin 1/30/18.

Larry Jacobson presented the minutes from 11/28/18. Jen Feingold made a motion to approve the minutes and Gene Rosenthal seconded the motion to approve the minutes. The minutes were approved as presented.

Frank Urman reported that Karen Pawlak provided the financial information requested by the auditor by the deadline. The auditor requested that the information be presented in another format, and it is being provided. The auditors will complete their fieldwork on December 11th and 12th. The audit committee will meet on 12/21 to review the audit. After the audit meeting the audited financial statements will be provided to the Executive Committee and then to the Board for approval. Previously it was questioned why the choir expense exceeded the budget by $10,000. On the financial statement, choir expense is one line item, but the budget has a number of line items. The expense needs to be allocated to the various line items. The choir expense when allocated properly, does not exceed the budget.

Sandy Korn, the 9 Health Fair Liaison, requested board support at the 9 Healthfair. She also would like to see the Temple celebrate Israel’s 70th anniversary on Wednesday, April 18th. Rabbi Rheins added that there will be a celebration which will hopefully incorporate not only Temple Sinai, but other Jewish organizations as well.

Rabbi Rick Rheins requested that the board become a sponsor for the JCRC. This sponsorship helps support their luncheon, Israel Day Parade, as well as, other events they hold during the year. The cost of the sponsorship is $750. Rabbi requested that the Temple pay half and he will pay half from his discretionary fund. Bruce Tully made a motion to sponsor the JCRC by paying for half of the cost, Bob Steine seconded the motion. The motion passed as presented.

Julia Teitell reported that the Youth Group Winter Chavurah will be held January 12-15. She asked the board to agree to host some of the teens coming to Denver for the Chavurah.

Lorne Maltenfort presented the results from Phase II of the Listening Campaign. The information compiled is forward thinking. The board will take some time to digest the information in order to present it to the congregation. The board will determine what actionable items have come from the results. In addition, the strategic planning committee will use the results to incorporate into the plan to be presented to the board in January.

Letters regarding year-end donations for BOF have been sent.

The board meeting was adjourned at 8:55 for Executive Session

Board Members present:
Frank Urman, Kathy Zeiger, Amy Rittenberg, Michelle Weinraub,
Larry Jacobson, Gene Rosenthal, Jeff Lavenhar, Vicki Goldman, Karen Kaplan,
Wendy Vean, Grace Bach, Sandy Korn, Shirley Beer Powell, Bruce Tully, Lane Feingold, Jen Feingold

Staff Member present:
Rabbi Rick Rheins, Rabbi Susan Rheins, Lorne Maltenfort,
Leslie Isaacs, Lisa Thorner, Julia Teitell, Sheila Nesis

Larry Jacobson called the meeting to order at 5:30. Abe Wagner was introduced to conduct a workshop for the board of trustees. He discussed the importance of getting members involved in processes and decision making. He feels that the more people are involved, the organization will benefit. He spoke about the importance of positive strokes for the culture and relationships of people and organizations. Abe gave various scenarios regarding the dynamic triangle of the protagonist, antagonist and victim. He also discussed auditory, visual and kinesthetic processing and how these types of processing affect communication.
Abe provided a list of confrontation techniques:
          1) the golden rule-how would you like to be treated,
          2) presume people have virtuous motives,
          3) start with a negative and end with an honest positive,
          4) Do’s are better than don’ts,
          5) give a face saving device,
          6) share your apprehension.
The board participated in an exercise in using these confrontation techniques. Abe offered his consulting experience to the Temple at no cost. The board thanked him
for the workshop.

Larry Jacobson called the board meeting to order at 6:35 and it was noted that a quorum was present.

Rabbi Rick Rheins delivered the D’Var Torah

Frank Urman presented the financial statements for 9/30/17. These statements are presented in a ledger format. Frank is working with Karen to prepare the financial statements in the previous format. Frank discussed that Karen needs to learn how to have the system prepare the financial statements, rather than pulling information from one system and putting in into another. This will be done once the audit is complete via additional training. Karen’s work has been prioritized to complete the audit first, the October financials second, and the audit of congregant’s accounts third. See Frank’s board report for the 9/30/17 financial statements and treasurer comments. Frank is monitoring the cash accounts less payables to assess how the Temple is operating. These accounts have remained steady with a balance net of payables in excess of $250K.

Lorne Maltenfort reported that there will be one more listening campaign session to be held this Saturday to discuss young professionals. All of the data from Phase II will be presented at the 12/4 board meeting. Over 170 people have participated in Phase II of the Listening Campaign.

Diana Kaplan is retiring on 12/15. There will be a celebration honoring her.

On Friday, 12/1, a finalist for the ECE positon, Sheila Purdin from Atlanta, Georgia, will be at the Temple. She is on the national board of ECE for the URJ and she is the VP of marketing. The board was encouraged to participate in meetings with her on 12/1 for breakfast, lunch or dinner. There will also be an opportunity to meet her at the Oneg on Friday night. Preschool parents on the search committee are meeting with her at 2:00 on 12/1. Karen Kirk is willing to stay on past November if it is determined that the Temple needs to look for another candidate.

Karen Kaplan commented that she thought the Kesher was beautiful. Others felt it didn’t’ look Jewish enough and that it was too long and the pictures appeared grainy on the computer. Lorne encouraged people to contact Aubry regarding feedback on the Kesher. She is eager to learn. Lorne plans to continue to bring the Kesher up to a more professional level and the Board discussed that this is the initial Kesher and that systems/bugs will continue to be worked out. He is also looking into software to put the Kesher on a digital platform that could include audio of sermons, songs etc. The deadline for the February Kesher is 1/5. All members have been tagged to receive the Kesher, as well as preschool parents and religious school parents. Lorne is able to track how many people have opened the email with the Kesher in it.

Larry Jacobson expressed appreciation for the anonymous donation. The balance of the BOF loan is approximately $720,000. A letter will be sent to congregants requesting donations prior to year-end. 

Larry asked if the board would like to continue to host the 9Health Fair. A board liaison is needed who can attend a meeting once per month. It was agreed that we would like to
continue to host and Sandy Korn agreed to volunteer as the liaison. The 9Health Fair is an important community event. Last year there were 611 participants at Temple. This year the Temple will be the first fair, which may bring in more participants.

Lorne announced that the preschool event to be held 11/30 has been postponed and will be held sometime in February. The event will be planned in conjunction with preschool parents and staff and will be held at the Temple and run by the preschool.

Grace Bach reminded everyone that on 12/15 at 5:30 there will be a Chanukkah Shabbat in which birthdays will be celebrated and a pot luck dinner will be held. The tot Shabbat service will be a separate service from the family service.

Lorne reminded everyone about the holiday party to be held on 12/19 from 6:00-9:00. This is an opportunity for the board, office staff, preschool and religious school staff to all be together.

Bruce Tully will be sending out the sign-up for Shabbat announcements for next year.

Rabbi Zwerin’s 81st birthday is 11/28.

Larry Jacobson announced that he is engaged to be married.

Jeff Lavenhar also announced that he is engaged.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:22 P.M. for Executive Session