Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting
16 June 2021

Present: Tamar Paltrow, President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Sue Lasser, Third Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Terri Jermon, Past President; Derek Armstrong, Men’s Club; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood; Harold Lefkowitz; Richard Zander; Laurie Rovin; Stephanie Glasser-Alfieri; Rabbi Marko.

 

Meeting called to order at 7:03pm.

 

• Approval of the May 2021 Minutes: Sue made the motion to approve April minutes. Derek seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

 

New Business

1. Federal grant Update - Rabbi

• The downstairs door to the religious school was removed and the new door was supposed to be installed this week. The frame was the wrong size, so it will be adjusted and installed next week.

1. Technology Update – Rabbi (on behalf of Paul)

• Wiring is needed to set up the sanctuary for virtual streaming. The camera will be mounted in the ceiling and then cabling will be run hidden through the sanctuary to the bima and closets. It’ll be $1,500 for the electrician to do this work.

• Streamspot is a cloud delivery platform that will allow Shabbat service streaming and recording that is automated, so we do not have to turn virtual streaming on and off. It’s $112/month with a discount through USCJ. It will store 3 years of services for access.

• MOTION: Mike made the motion to approve $1,500 for the wiring. Sue approved the motion. Cheryl seconded the motion. VOTE: Approved by unanimous vote.

• The Streamspot technology requires more discussion and clarification. Mike and the committee will provide additional information when the Rabbi and Paul are available as well.

 

Welcome New Board Members!

• We took the opportunity to welcome Laurie and Richard to the 2021 Board and introduce the Board members they didn’t know.

 

Monthly Update and Committee Reports

• Miriam requested a monthly update on grants (incoming funding and management fees) moving forward as part of Lance’s Treasurer’s update (separate from the budget report). To date: We’ve spent about $50K of the $100K in state/federal grants for security. The Levine Foundation grant is pending for Jewish programming and education.

  • Harold recommends we keep the congregation up to date on our grants. Laurie supports sharing this information and the grant amounts to provide transparency.

 

Old Business

1. Building Management support – Derek

   • Derek addressed a blockage in the drain with a plumber which caused some flooding. Moving forward, there will be signage to note only toilet paper down the toilets – no feminine products. The AC is also working again. The hot water in the kitchen still needs to be addressed, as the hot water heater isn’t working. It’s next on the list. We will not use the kitchen until this is addressed. There is also the issue of peeling plaster from the ceiling.

2. Strategic Planning update – Miriam (on behalf of Mike and Paul)

   • Please put your PACT goals into the Google doc no later than June 25th so that we can prepare for the "in-person" meeting on the 30th.

   • Meeting on June 30th will begin at 6:30 PM (6/30 @ 6:30) and will be in person.  We will be prioritizing our PACT goals and identifying our resource needs (people, money, physical space).

   • We need to choose a date for a congregational meeting in July (I can't meet on the weekend of July 15) to be able to share the PACT goals, get feedback, and sign up congregants to help with implementation.

     1. The Board selected the date - Wednesday, July 7th @ 7pm – Congregation Meeting – both in-person and virtual

   • At the monthly Board Meeting in July (July 21) we will summarize congregational feedback and begin to work together on the resource questions.

   • Goal is to finish the strategic planning in August and move into execution.

 

1. Master Calendar Update - Sue

• The calendar will be available on the website.

• Highlights – Events/Celebrations committee will confirm next steps on details.

  • Friday, July 23rd – potential Grand “Re-Opening” at CBI Shabbat dinner – to be confirmed

  • Aug 26th/29th – Religious School reopens. Sunday school with weekday tutoring virtually moving forward.

  • Sept 6th – Potential RH dinner? Break-fast is also TBD. (Derek will investigate hot water heater, so we can plan).

  • Sukkah – will need to go on the side of the building by the classrooms before the 19th – when the Hebrew School will decorate.

 

1. Membership Outreach - Miriam

• Update on Board Representative outreach calls – new assignments forthcoming in July for Richard and Laurie.

• Membership packets for the 2021-2022 are due to be reviewed and updated. ACTION: Miriam will share forms with folks for review and updates by July 1st.

• ACTION: Laurie will ask Carole Weinstock for a copy of the old membership brochure. It will be updated (by whom TBD) and then included with Federation moving forward.

 

New Business (continued)

1. Yard Sale - Tamar

• Sunday, July 11th – Yard Sale at CBI. $5/space – includes 2 chairs and table. A donation of proceeds is optional (and appreciated). Promotions have started. ACTION: Please share when making your Board Representative outreach calls. Parking will be on the street. Harold shared city guidelines in Slack.

1. Board Meetings – Tamar

• The group is appreciative of Zoom meetings for the efficiency and time management. It’s also helpful when folks are traveling. For now we’ll keep to Zoom with the option for those who want to gather to do so.

1. New Board Installation - Terri

• Friday night, June 25th – please plan to attend (live or Zoom)

1. Guest Speaker this Sunday - Terri

• 50 people have signed up for the event

• An assumption was made that Sisterhood would sponsor the Breakfast. Terri is helping to manage the food. She will order the bagels and a few members will help organize. Terri needs budget to support the food costs. The Board supports this expense. In addition, a basket for donations will be added to the breakfast table.

1. Sisterhood program on Zoom on 6/27 - Cheryl

• Together with 4 congregations – Topic is “Jewish life in China”

• 4:30pm on June 27th – RSVPs needed as there are limited Zoom “seats”

 

Agenda Items for July

• Strategic Planning update – feedback from Congregation meeting on PACT goals

Meeting Feedback

It was nice to welcome Laurie and Richard!

 

Motion to adjourn made by Miriam.  Tamar seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 8:25pm.

 

 

 

Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting
19 May 2021

Present: Tamar Paltrow, President; Paul Della Maggiora, First Vice President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Terri Jermon, Past President; Derek Armstrong, Men’s Club; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood; Harold Lefkowitz; Stephanie Alfieri; Trae Martin, and Rabbi Mathew Marko.

 

Meeting called to order at 7:06pm.

 

• Rabbi’s teaching – In the wilderness, a metaphor for life

• Approval of the April 2021 Minutes:  Terri made the motion to approve January minutes. Tamar seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

 

Monthly Update and Committee Reports

No comments.

 

Old Business

1. Return to CBI Committee update – Tamar

   • The committee is working to compile the list of everything that needs to be addressed to prepare for the return. The plan is to get into the building as soon as possible. The bathrooms are fixed. Question – do we have a date for return? The committee will review and confirm a date and get back to the Board to firm up plans and next steps.

2. Nominating Committee update – Terri

   • Lenny will be moving away from Greenville. Laurie Rovin will be joining the Board as our new Recording Secretary. Richard Zander will join as the At Large member in place of Lenny.

   • ACTION: Terri will arrange for a Congregational Meeting to approve the slate for new members.

3. Building Management support – Paul

   • Maggie is confirmed as the Building Management Committee Chair. Derek will be the Board point of contact for Maggie. ACTION: Derek will reach out to Maggie on next steps.

4. Strategic Planning update – Mike

   • We have a list of potential members who may be ideal to join the different groups. ACTION: Check Slack for the list for your group. Contact folks before the June meeting.

5. Calendar meeting - Stephanie

   • Stephanie has the bones of the calendar and the holidays. ACTION: Stephanie will scan and send the calendar to Trae to merge with the master synagogue calendar. ACTION: Miriam will share details with Trae and work to schedule it with the other key participants: Rabbi, Sue, Cheryl, Derek, and Tamar.

 

New Business

1. Congregational Meeting – Paul

• The majority of attendees approved the 5-year Rabbi contract. Yay!

• A big discussion point was support for the Hebrew School/Education. This will continue to evolve to support the needs of the community.

• The motion from the meeting included sharing the Job Description to members who would like to understand what the Rabbi is focused on for the community.

 

1. Shalom Cloud Rollout – Trae

• Shalom Cloud is ready to roll out. The first announcement email has gone out. Trae will roll it out slowly and watch/monitor how adoption and engagement flows. ACTION: Trae and Paul will work with Sue and Stephanie to move school registration forward.

 

Agenda Items for June

• Update on Old Business items

Meeting Feedback

Motion to adjourn made by Miriam.  Paul seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 7:43pm.

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Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting
21 April 2021

Present: Tamar Paltrow, President; Paul Della Maggiora, First Vice President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Sue Lasser, Third Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Terri Jermon, Past President; Derek Armstrong, Men’s Club; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood; Lenny Reznik; Harold Lefkowitz; Stephanie Alfieri; and Rabbi Mathew Marko.

 

Meeting called to order at 7:04pm.

 

• Rabbi’s teaching – Counting the Omer

• Approval of the March 2021 Minutes: Tamar made the motion to approve January minutes. Paul seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

 

Monthly Update and Committee Reports

No comments

 

Old Business

1. Return to CBI Committee update – Tamar

   • The committee is not ready to bring members inside. They are looking at a purification system inside. They put together guides for the b’nai mitzvahs coming up this Spring. The hybrid services with the tent will be the short-term plan. Bathrooms need to be addressed. Mike asked if we can set a date for when we’ll open. Tamar said the due diligence for what’s needed to get the building ready and safe to re-open is still in progress, so making that call is too premature at this moment. It’s important we address the plumbing issues ASAP. A question was asked if there is asbestos in the ceiling. Harry joined the meeting to say no – it was addressed several years ago. Mike asked that the committee prioritize and push forward on this effort, since it’s so important for the community to move forward. Does the kitchen need to be operational to open the building? The sinks are not operational. It will take time. The committee will not require it to be functional for initial return to the building.

   • MOTION: Harold made the motion to allow the plumber recommended by the Rabbi, Beto, to open the ceiling and identify the specific plumber needs to fix the bathroom issues for $300. We will also ask him to look at the kitchen. Tamar seconded the motion. Discussion noted above. VOTE: Majority approved the motion to proceed forward.

2. Nominating Committee update – Terri

   • The Board will continue into the next year. Lenny will step down from the Board. The committee identified Richard Zander to join as the new member at large. Ed Miller has also expressed interest in serving as a member at large. There is not the need for an additional 3rd at large Board member, so the request was made for the Nominating Committee to confirm one at large member to replace Lenny. We welcome the interest from members to lead committees, however it does not necessitate a Board seat. ACTION: The committee will confirm one person for the role and finalize the recording secretary role.

3. Building Management support – Tamar

   • ACTION: Miriam will reach out to Maggie about her potential interest to lead the Committee. Miriam will give her Harry’s phone number to discuss the work involved. Derek remains available to support.

4. Membership Outreach/Board Representative Calls  – Miriam

   • Open discussion – any insights/inputs from member discussions? People continue to appreciate the outreach calls.

     1. Topics for next outreach: Tikkun Leil Shavuot event – May 16th; Hybrid services – tent/Zoom; B’Nai Mitzvah participation request outreach – sign up with Trae to confirm participation.

   • Membership Survey – Board members will review the member survey results. Miriam will post the file in Slack. For those Board members in need of committee growth, they will take a first pass at identifying potential members to invite to join their committees. Then we will compare to confirm we do ask people to multiple committees. ACTION: Share recommendations by the end of April.

5. Strategic Planning update – Mike

   • Groups should review the feedback from the congregation meeting in April and determine what edits should be incorporated. ACTION: Update vision statements by the next meeting in May.

   • ACTION: Review the member survey group to identify people to help achieve the “How” we achieve our vision statements by May 12th.

   • May 12th is our next strategic planning meeting.

 

New Business

1. Stephanie updated us that she needs extensive surgery in May and she may be out of commission for several months. Potential impact for the school is to be determined.

 

Agenda Items for May

No new business. We’ll update on the on-going old business.

Meeting Feedback

Executive Session

Motion to adjourn made by Miriam.  Harold seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 8:59pm.

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Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting
17 March 2021

Present: Tamar Paltrow, President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Sue Lasser, Third Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Terri Jermon, Past President; Derek Armstrong, Men’s Club; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood; Lenny Reznik; Harold Lefkowitz; Stephanie Alfieri; and Rabbi Mathew Marko.

 

Meeting called to order at 7:03pm.

 

• Rabbi’s teaching – Va’Yikra sacrifices

• Approval of the February 2021 Minutes: Terri made the motion to approve January minutes. Derek seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

 

Monthly Update and Committee Reports

• Rabbi report - questions

  • How are we compensating for the grant work? Money has come out of the discretionary fund. How much is it monthly/per grant? It’s $500 for each grant.

  • How is the broader community supporting the Virtual Tour of Auschwitz? We’re splitting the costs across 4 groups (CBI, TI, Federation, and Chabad) - $400/group.

• Investment Committee report – Mike

  • The investment committees (8 people) had meetings with the advisors for each fund and the group met to confirm the investment strategies for each fund.

 

Old Business

1. Return to CBI Committee update – Rabbi and group

   • Rabbi proposes tent services beginning April 3rd – the 7th day of Passover and an opportunity to say Yizkor in person

     1. Zoom will still be used for remote participation

   • We need work on the building to prepare for our return.

2. Nominating Committee update – Terri

   • Approval from the Board is needed for the Nominating Committee – Terri Jermon, Mindy Levy, Tamar Paltrow, Mike Ungar, Susie Rakes, Richard Zander. VOTE: Mike made the motion to approve the nominating committee. Harold seconded the motion. Unanimous approval.

3. Membership Outreach/Board Representative Calls  – Miriam

   • Open discussion – any insights/inputs from member discussions? People continue to appreciate the outreach calls.

4. Membership Survey – Miriam

   • The survey is live and results are coming in (40 to date)!  ACTION: Please complete the survey and promote it as you make your calls. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2G89B89

 

New Business

1. Trae, our new Office Manager (Executive Administration) – Miriam (on behalf of Paul)

   • ACTION: The Board has been asked to meet with Trae. Trae will be trained on ShalomCloud.

2. Building Management support – Tamar (on behalf of Paul)

   • Harry Gleich has stepped down from his role managing the building. ACTION: Derek will investigate the support work involved. Howard Levy is also interested in supporting this need.

   • Lance raised the financial concerns associated with the building issues. To repair the current plumbing issues, it will be $15K+.

3. IHN (Interfaith Hospitality Network) – Cheryl              

   • IHN has not been housing people in churches and synagogues right now. They have been using apartments offered to them at a reduced rate of $1K/month. Cheryl would like to run a project – perhaps one family each month – to support the costs (toiletries/food/funding). Is there interest to support this? ACTION: Lenny and Cheryl will build a proposal to the Board on specifics. Miriam will share Member Survey data for interested members who may be able to support the planning.

Agenda Items for April

1. Terri – will share Nominating Committee next steps.

2. Mike/Paul – will share updates from the Strategic Planning congregation feedback meeting on April 14th

Meeting Feedback

Efficient meeting!

Executive Session

Motion to adjourn made by Miriam.  Sue seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 8:18pm.

 

 

Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting
17 February 2021

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Present: Tamar Paltrow, President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Sue Lasser, Third Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Terri Jermon, Past President; Derek Armstrong, Men’s Club; Lenny Reznik; Harold Lefkowitz; Stephanie Alfieri; and Rabbi Mathew Marko.

 

Meeting called to order at 7:07pm.

 

• Rabbi teaching – Mishkan/Tabernacle

• Approval of the January 2021 Minutes:  Mike made the motion to approve January minutes. Tamar seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

 

Monthly Update and Committee Reports -- No discussion.

 

Old Business

1. Membership Outreach/Board Representative Calls  – Miriam

   • Open discussion – any insights/inputs from member discussions? Tamar recommends that we remind services attendees that we are reaching out regularly as Board Representatives. Land Sale update question – No developers have made an offer yet, so there is no action at the moment. It remains for sale. ACTION: Miriam will provide bullets/notes for the March outreach calls.

2. Membership Survey – Miriam

   • The membership interest survey is designed to identify members’ interests as well as potential Committee members for invitation. ACTION: Please test the survey by this Sunday, February 21st and provide any edits to Miriam. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2G89B89

 

New Business

1. Purchase of 2 PCs – Rabbi (on behalf of Paul)

Discussion: Per the proposal, we are need of 2 PCs to update the Executive Assistant’s PC and the Rabbi’s PC. The Rabbi’s current PC will be used as a dedicated PC for our virtual streaming services. Marie did the research and has estimated that the expenses will not exceed $2,100. Lance noted that we do not have the funds allocated, but we will make it work now so we have the infrastructure in place to run services and the. Derek made the motion to approve the expense. The Board unanimously approved the motion.

Open Items

Mike – Have we organized ourselves for opening the building? What’s the plan? The Rabbi agrees that we need to have a committee to meet and determine next steps. Committee planning – Terri, Tamar, Harold, and Stephanie are available to join the planning. ACTION: Tamar will schedule a first meeting and together the group will recommend next steps.

Terri – Nominating Committee for the Board work begins now. ACTION: Terri will reach out to each of the Board Members to discuss plans as well as work with Tamar to create the Committee (per the by-laws) and make a recommendation to the Board.

Rabbi – There is an amazing program with live real-time virtual tours of Auschwitz geared towards teens. The Rabbi went today and it was incredibly powerful. It’s $1,000 for the program and could be a shared cost across the Greenville community with collective participation. This will be an incredible program for Yom Ha-Shoah this spring. ACTION: The Rabbi will reach out to others in the Jewish community to confirm participation, interest, and/or collective funding.

Agenda Items for March

1. IHM (Interfaith Hospitality Network) – Cheryl

Meeting Feedback -- We were efficient with our time.

Executive Session

Motion to adjourn made by Tamar. Sue seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 8:45pm.

 

 

 

Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting
20 January 2021

Present:

Tamar Paltrow, President; Paul Della Maggiora, First Vice President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Sue Lasser, Third Vice President; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Terri Jermon, Past President; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood; Derek Armstrong, Men’s Club; Lenny Reznik; Harold Lefkowitz; Stephanie Glasser-Alfieri, Religious School; Rabbi Mathew Marko.

 

Meeting called to order at 7:04pm.

• Rabbi teaching – Parsha Bo

 

Approval of the December Minutes: Derek made the motion to approve December minutes. Harold seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

 

Monthly Update and Committee Reports

No discussion.

 

Old Business

1. USCJ Training update – Miriam

   • It’s time to move forward and build the tools to expand our Committees. Please reference our “Leadership Haggadah” for the materials to develop. ACTION: Review the “Haggadah” in Dropbox to confirm you have the basic materials to guide and educate future volunteers, including the Committee Job Description, Volunteer Want Ad, initial PACT Goal, etc. Reach out if you have any questions.

 

New Business

1. Membership Outreach – Miriam

   • We want to stay in touch with our Members on a regular basis.

   • Proposal – Each Board member commit to calling 9 members every 4-6 weeks. This will help us stay connected to our membership, share information, and gain insights and feedback as needed.

   • ACTION: If you have a preference regarding whom you’d like to call, please add your name to this spreadsheet. Miriam will assign any remaining names over the weekend (1/24/21). Miriam will distribute a regular “update” to share, so there is clarity.

 

1. Shabbat Mindfulness – Sue

   • Please do not send any Board communications via Slack, email, or text on Shabbat. Let’s leave our “business” for the regular week. ACTION: Please hold off on outreach from Friday evening – Saturday evening.

 

1. Holiday Event Planning – Sue

   • Historically the planning for holidays has fallen to the school to manage and plan. Holidays are not just for kids. We need to bring our community together around events and it should be more than just the religious school’s responsibility.

   • Proposal – Every committee should take ownership of one of the Jewish holidays over the course of the year. As the lead, each committee will pull in members from across the community to help plan.

   • Purim – The Rabbi, Stephanie, and Sue are suggesting a drive-in movie night. It would cost ~$3K, so that’s a large amount for a program and we don’t know people’s interest. Is there interest to help plan this event? We need the Board to step in and support planning.

Discussion

• Concerns: The proposed plan to take ownership of holiday planning is too much for our existing “workload” as a Board with all that we have to do now. In addition, the Purim plan is hard for young kids and this doesn’t meet the needs of our young kids.

• Considerations: Is there a resource we can tap to create and roll out holiday programs? Such as the planning process that Chabad leverages for their programming. Stephanie has resources and knowledge to share to help support this need. Can we create an Executive Director role? This may be possible with a new funding source.

 

• ACTIONS: Short term for Purim -- Derek and Miriam will meet to brainstorm and plan next steps for a less expensive and simple holiday event. Outreach to follow to recruit additional Board members to help with planning. Long term for holiday planning -- Sue will provide a list of holidays for the Board to select moving forward.

 

1. Genizah - Tamar

   • We need a space to bury Jewish texts. The Rabbi suggested a place within the cemetery where it would be appropriate. ACTION: The Rabbi will confirm space at the cemetery.

Open Items

1. Paul -- Shalom Cloud. Data has been shared and will be uploaded in the next few weeks. Training will begin in a few weeks.

2. Paul -- Linda’s retirement. Linda is planning to retire April 2, 2021. We have a job description put together and will work to hire and transition over the next 2 months. ACTION: If you’d like to be part of the process for hiring a new Admin, please reach out to Paul.

3. Rabbi – The Levine Foundation now wants to support synagogues with a long term yearly grant. The Rabbi spoke with them about a formal application – and we were invited to submit. They base their awards on 2 factors – earned income (dues) and our bigger donors. It’s a process. The Rabbi will work with our grant writer, Bonnie, to submit the application by the end of March.

Agenda Items for February

• IHN (Interfaith Hospitality Network) – Cheryl

Meeting Feedback

• Meeting was harder to follow – given the open ended discussion and limited structure.

Motion to adjourn made by Sue. Stephanie seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm.

 

 

 

 

 

Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting 
9 December 2020

Present: 
Tamar Paltrow, President; Paul Della Maggiora, First Vice President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Sue Lasser, Third Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Terri Jermon, Past President; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood; Derek Armstrong and Neal Baskin, Men’s Club; Lenny Reznik; Harold Lefkowitz; Rabbi Mathew Marko.

Meeting called to order at 7:06pm.
•    Rabbi teaching – Joseph and his brothers
•    A Shechianu blessing to our new Board members - 

Approval of the November Minutes: Tamar made the motion to approve November minutes. Paul seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

Monthly Update and Committee Reports
No discussion.

Old Business
1.    USCJ Training update – Miriam
•    Our November training focused on volunteer recruitment materials. We now have our “Leadership Haggadah” completed and we look forward to our final USCJ training on 12/16 with our General Board and Committee chairs. ACTION: Please review the materials in advance. Our training is scheduled for 12/16 at 6:30pm. 
2.    Tikkun Olam December Drive – Lenny
•    Lenny shared the details for our Tikkun Olam donations – collection will take place on December 17th at the synagogue. Items can be dropped off early – please work with Linda to ensure everything is clearly marked. ACTION: Bima sitters this weekend will announce a reminder to participants.

New Business
1.    2021 Budget – Mike and Lance
•    Mike and Lance went through the categorized 2020 expenses and planned 2021 expenses, taking into account our current limitations for in-person programs. 
•    Discussion: We’re fortunate to be managing our expenses so well given the current environment. Mike confirmed we don’t have specific budget for Committees. We do need to work to align our financial planning to our strategic goals to tailor the budget to our priorities. This will happen as part of our strategic planning work in 2021. Sue shared one potential budget focus area to consider for investment in 2021 – growth of our teen involvement with programming. Cheryl suggested Sue bring this to Sisterhood for support.
•    VOTE: Mike made a motion to approve the budget. Paul seconded the motion. The budget was approved by unanimous vote. ACTION: Schedule a congregational meeting to vote on the budget with 10 days’ notice. Tamar will take the lead to communicate and set up the meeting on December 23rd, 2020 at 7pm.  
Open Items
•    Terri noticed that the front steps at the synagogue need to be pressure washed to remove black mold. ACTION: Neal will investigate.
•    Reminder – 3rd Night/3rd Light this weekend – please attend.
Agenda Items for January
•    Cheryl – IHN (Interfaith Hospitality Network)
Meeting Feedback
•    Efficient and productive!
Motion to adjourn made by Lenny. Terri seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 7:59pm.
 

 

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Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting
18 November 2020

Present:

Tamar Paltrow, President; Paul Della Maggiora, First Vice President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Sue Lasser, Third Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood; Vic Alfieri, Men’s Club; Lenny Reznik, At Large; Stephanie Alfieri, Religious School; Rabbi Mathew Marko.

 

Meeting called to order at 7:05pm.

• Rabbi teaching – Who is Isaac?

• Approval of the October Minutes:  Miriam made the motion to approve October minutes. Paul seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

 

Monthly Update and Committee Reports

• Comment – The Rabbi added to his Rabbi Report to note that he has been invited to join the Prisma of the Upstate Board. This is a great opportunity to bring awareness and representation. The time commitment is one full day once a quarter.

 

Old Business

1. USCJ Training update – Miriam

   • Our November training focused on volunteer development. The Board is building volunteer profiles and “want ads” to support future recruitment. ACTION: Our final USCJ training will be Wednesday, Dec 16th @ 7pm. All General Board members, staff (Rabbi & Education), and Committee chairs will participate. Miriam will send prep details in advance.

 

New Business

1. Board update

   • Tamar shared at the top of the meeting that Harold Lefkowitz will be joining our Board as an At Large member.

2. Committee Tikkun Olam holiday update

   • Lenny noted that a dinner at the Salvation Army is not practical this year. There are options to run food drives or work with the Greenville women’s shelter. Lenny is proposing a Sunday to provide a drop-off day at CBI. Miriam raised the fact that there is a current food drive highlighted in the weekly newsletter, however it’s not run by CBI. Everyone agreed to the importance of having a CBI-run Tikkun Olam effort this holiday season. ACTION: Lenny will gather information and post a plan in Slack.

3. Adjustment back to virtual services

   • The Rabbi raised the concern of the US’s significant increase in COVID-19 cases. With cold and flu season now upon us and the weather turning colder, is it the right time to adjust back to virtual-only services? Mike noted consideration to follow CDC guidelines. The Board agreed to virtual services. ACTION: The Rabbi will note this adjustment in the next newsletter.

4. Quarterly newsletter

   • Paul noted the challenge of gathering inputs for the newsletter. ACTION: Paul will take over this process from Linda to make it easier on Linda.

Open Items

1. Vic will be stepping down as Men’s Club chair. Derek Armstrong and Neal Baskin will be co-chairs moving forward. Vic and Harold will support and mentor Derek and Neal. ACTION: Miriam will send Derek and Neal Slack and Zoom information.

Agenda Items for December

• The December Board meeting will be scheduled on 12/9 @ 7pm.

• Key agenda item -- Lance and Mike will have a proposed budget for 2021 for us to review.

• Mike is proposing Dec 23rd for the congregation meeting to discuss the budget.

Motion to adjourn made by Miriam. Tamar seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 7:58pm.

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Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting
21 October 2020

Present:

Tamar Paltrow, President; Paul Della Maggiora, First Vice President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Sue Lasser, Third Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Terri Jermon, Past President; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood; Vic Alfieri, Men’s Club; Lenny Reznik; Stephanie Alfieri, Religious School; Rabbi Mathew Marko.

 

Meeting called to order at 7:04pm.

• Rabbi teaching – Pirkei Avot 2.2

• Approval of the September Minutes: Mike made the motion to approve September minutes. Terri seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

 

Monthly Update and Committee Reports

• Comment - It’s nice to see membership continue to grow during this virtual time.

  • Question – are we losing members? Mike noted that we did lose one member. There are 2 members who have not engaged in a while. ACTION: Mike/Rabbi will follow up with them.

 

Old Business

1. USCJ Training update – Miriam

   • Our October training focused on accountability. This builds off of our efforts to clearly define roles and committees. Miriam reviewed the Board Expectations document and requested feedback. As part of the discussion, there were points made that we be very clear about what these expectations mean. Contributions are not meant to be out of scope of a family’s ability. One unified voice is not meant to remove differences of opinions. ACTION: We will provide an addendum to further define the Board Expectations. VOTE: Miriam made the motion to approve the Board Expectations. Vic seconded the motion. All approved.

   • The November training will focus on volunteer development.

2. ShalomCloud update – Paul

   • Paul evaluated the software tools available to help us run more efficiently. The recommendation is to move forward with ShalomCloud at $35/month. The software provides several admin features as well as a membership portal with access given to members to manage record keeping – member information, financial tracking, interests, etc. This software is economical and meets most of our key needs. Our approach will be to tackle each manual effort and function one at a time and create the process for adoption for each task. It should take about 6 months to fully adopt the software. VOTE: Paul made the motion to adopt this software for one year. Miriam seconded the motion. All approved.

3. High Holiday expenses update - Lance

   • Final numbers are now in from the High Holidays. As the Financial committee reviewed the expenses, it became clear that not all of the expenses were High Holiday specific – such as A/V expenses and the tent (both now used for weekly services). Our plan is to move the expenses not specific to just the High Holidays over to the general operating expenses. They will become line items outside of the High Holidays. This was not the initial plan, so Lance wanted to discuss this adjustment to confirm everyone is comfortable with the planned itemization. There was unanimous support for this effort.

4. Virtual Bima Schedule - Tamar

   • Pre-pandemic we had a schedule for Board participation at all services. Now there is a calendar schedule for the General Board to assign rotating representation of our Board at Friday and Saturday services. The schedule is posted in Slack. Remote participation is perfectly acceptable. Board members will make the announcements at the close of the service. For Zoom participation, the Rabbi will be make the Board member a co-leader, so they can mute people as needed. If participating in person on Shabbat mornings, please work with the Rabbi for support with A/V set up.

 

New Business

1. Management and Membership for Trustee Committee for the Endowment Fund and Investment Committee for the Perpetual Fund - Mike

• There have been 2 separate groups for managing our Funds. Mike and Lance have access to both accounts from a financial perspective. Mike is working to have 5 people responsible for both accounts. This will require reviewing the details and ensuring there is coverage and support for the nuances for each Fund. There is nothing prohibitive in the by-laws to bring the management of these 2 Funds together. ACTION: Mike will return with recommendations for this transition of management.

Open Items

• By-Laws update – we will revisit the by-laws as we wrap up our USCJ training.

• Religious school calendar notes – On 11/21 the school will join our community Shabbat service and on 12/12 there will be a school-led Havdalah and candle lighting with the community.

• Sisterhood will not be hosting gift wrapping at the Haywood Mall this December 2020.

Agenda Items for November

• There are no specific items for the November agenda at this time.

Meeting Feedback

• We’re getting good at our efficiency with our time.

The Board entered Executive Session at 8:20pm.

Motion to adjourn made by Vic. Cheryl seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 8:54pm.

 

 

 

 

Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting
16 September 2020

Present:

Tamar Paltrow, President; Paul Della Maggiora, First Vice President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Sue Lasser, Third Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Terri Jermon, Past President; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood; Vic Alfieri, Men’s Club; Stephanie Alfieri, Religious School; Rabbi Mathew Marko.

 

Meeting called to order at 7:08pm.

Approval of the August Minutes: Paul made the motion to approve August minutes. Terri seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

 

Monthly Update and Committee Reports

1. Hebrew School update – Sue

Sue shared the latest news with virtual Hebrew School. There are 14 students. Students’ attention spans are short. The engagement time with the younger kids are reduced. Hebrew lessons will be 1-1 to enable direct and productive interactions. There is an in-person Tashlech service on Day 2 of Rosh Hashana with over 20 families planning to participate.

 

Old Business

1. Membership Photo Directory update - Miriam

• Final photos should be received by next week. ACTION: Miriam will assemble the Directory over the next few weeks and share the draft with a few Board members to confirm names/photos are correct.

1. High Holiday planning update - Paul

   • The dry run this past weekend was successful. We do need to organize the scheduling of ushers. ACTION: Vic to assign 2 ushers for each of the services. Rabbi will share emails.

   • We are expecting 35 people (27 inside the tent) for Day 1 Rosh Hashana. There are 36 for Yom Kippur (25 in the tent). We are light for Ne’ilah, so it would be helpful to have a few more in-person participants to ensure a minyan.

2. USCJ update - Miriam

   • Miriam shared the August training update. We focused on outlining and crafting the Board Expectations document as part of our work to delegate and identify clear roles and responsibilities for the executive board, the general board, staff and committees. Our homework for this month is to craft detailed job descriptions for the main committees outlined in our by-laws. These foundational documents (living drafts) will become part of our “Board Hagaddah” – the collection of documents to enable and guide our Board structure, our governance, and our operating procedures.

3. Land sale update – Mike/Lance

   • Background discussion: The land sale is the outcome to address our financial situation. We have $165K in loans, we are drawing down on our perpetual fund, and our dues/income has decreased over the last 5 years. Lance has raised concerns regarding the partial sale of the land impacting our future strategic vision. We need to have a strategic vision to align the best course of action. Lance raised the question of whether or not the sale of part of our land is potentially harmful for our long-term goals. This is not a subject addressed by the land committee. There are reservations about selling the land. We discussed the challenges of how to proceed forward with strategic planning concurrent to the current efforts. The land sale committee recommends we lower the price to $525K from $575K. Tamar shared her challenges with selling her own land on the same road. Rabbi shared his insights, including how COVID has changed how community is defined.

     1. VOTE: Mike made the motion to lower the price to $525K, but not to lower the price below that point. Sue seconded the motion. Two nay votes. The motion passed.

     2. ACTION: Miriam will reach out to USCJ to request strategic planning support. We would like to escalate this effort concurrent to our Board training, since the gap to address key issues is handicapping our ability to make the most appropriate recommendations for our community. Paul will take on leading this committee.

4. Fundraising Update - Mike

   • We have $9K in commitments. We are in line with the 2019 fund raising. Lenny helped make calls with Mike.

 

 

 

New Business

1. FEMA grants update - Rabbi
   We have been awarded another $50K for 2020. The historic registry issue has been resolved. We have received bids and have elected Glass Doctor. The 2019 FEMA grant will cover the bullet-proof glass around the sanctuary and a new backdoor into the Hebrew School. We do need to float the funds and the funds will be reimbursed net 30 days. The second new grant was scoped to replace all of the school classroom doors and the glass in the Heller chapel. The Rabbi recommends that we hold on the chapel and use the funds to upgrade our network. This would enable us to add more alarms and cameras to our system for security. It would be $15K for the network upgrade, cameras, WiFi, etc. The Board agreed with this adjustment to the 2020 grant. It will increase our monthly IT and security monitoring costs to $35/month from $20/month. The Financial Committee confirmed we can float the $50K for the 2019 grant. They noted that we need to manage one grant at a time in terms of cash flow.

 

1. ShalomCloud update - Paul
   A demo will be set up. Miriam, Mike, Lance, Cheryl, Sue would like to join Paul for the demo. Lance inquired about QuickBooks replacement options. ACTION: Paul will re-evaluate our technology spend as part of the Technology Committee work to help reduce our monthly expenses.

 

1. Security planning - Miriam
   David Rubenstein, a pending new member, is interested in supporting the detailed creation for a security protocol. ACTION: Miriam will connect David with Harry after the holidays. Paul would like to be involved in the discussion.

No agenda items noted for October at this point in time.

Paul recommended we continue to strive for one hour meetings.

Motion to adjourn made by Vic. Sue (and everyone else) seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 8:55pm.

 

 

 

 

Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting
19 August 2020*

*Minutes Pending Acceptance at next board meeting.

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Present:

Tamar Paltrow, President; Paul Della Maggiora, First Vice President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Sue Lasser, Third Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Terri Jermon, Past President; Lenny Reznick, At large; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood; Vic Alfieri, Men’s Club; Stephanie Alfieri, Religious School; Rabbi Mathew Marko; Rick Zepel, At Large.

 

Meeting called to order at 7:04pm.

Rabbi Marko - D’var Torah

Approval of the July Minutes: Terri made the motion to approve July minutes. Rick seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

 

Monthly Update and Committee Reports

• The Rabbi confirmed we have verbal approval to receive the SLED grant funding for security this year.

 

Old Business

1. Membership Photo Directory update

• Jackie Shapiro will be the point of contact for synagogue photos. ACTION: Miriam will reach out to Jackie for high resolution images. Miriam will work with Mike on fundraising – incorporating into the High Holiday efforts.

1. Land sale update

• Feedback from developers is that the land is priced too high. Mike will work with the real estate agent to adjust the pricing to be market competitive.

1. Blood Drive participation recap

• Limited participation this year – only 6 donations. It may be worth adjusting the time slot for the next time – for example not on Sunday morning so the local Church members can participate. Miriam suggested including a Community Need notice in our weekly newsletter.

 

New Business

1. High Holidays Planning & Prep Updates

• 91 responses to our member survey. Paul reviewed the committee recommendations.

• A new web page has been created to outline our plans: https://www.bethisraelsc.org/holydays

Board Vote: Motion by Paul: A request to approve the committee recommendations to host services outside with safety measures in place and live video for remote participants with a budget of $11K. Motion seconded by Sue.

Discussion:

1. The investment in the technology will be leveraged in the future. The tent will be used for future Shabbat services.

2. Terri raised the issue of security. The Rabbi confirmed there are security cameras on the basketball court. The recommendation is to post surveillance signage. ACTION: Paul will take this recommendation back to the Committee along with any other actions we can take to protect the tent.

3. Lenny asked about availability of the budget request. Mike noted that we’ve received money from bequests to support this effort ($5,500). We also have a special fund and the ability to fundraise as part of the High Holidays. There are members who are very committed to finding a way to host in-person services and they are willing to support a tent to enable this need.

VOTE – Approved by the Board by all, but one.

• High Holidays schedule and prep – Paul has a working document to outline the roles and responsibilities for executing High Holidays. Paul requested help from the Board to assign roles for areas not yet supported. The Rabbi made recommendations for how to handle a few items.

• Torah Reading/Blessings: Due to safety, only the Rabbi will read from the Torah right now. During the High Holidays, the Rabbi will allow members to “read” the Torah – even from Zoom – as the Rabbi will be quietly reciting at the Torah. This is also true for Aliyot honors. They can be remote, as the Rabbi will be next to the Torah to quietly recite the blessings.

 

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1. USCJ Training

• Miriam highlighted our July training which was focused on identifying the strengths and growth areas for our Board. We drafted a Board Leadership vision. The next collective step is to all meet and create “job roles” and descriptions for each of us and for the Committees we have and need. Once we have this foundational material in place, we have the ability to grow volunteerism and engagement with our broader membership. The next meeting is next Wednesday, Aug 26th with USCJ. ACTION: Miriam will reach out to schedule a planning session in the next 1-2 months separately from our general Board meetings.

 

1. Link to Board Minutes for Members

• A few members have asked for access to our Board discussions and our minutes. We welcome the interest. ACTION: The Rabbi will create a private page (not visible) on our website to host the minutes. Miriam will send the Rabbi minutes from the start of this Board.

 

1. Board Bima Duty -- Virtually

• participation from the Board and a Board presence would be nice to add. The Board agrees this should be added. ACTION: Tamar will put together a schedule.

 

1. High Holidays fundraising

• Mike would like support to make phone calls. Several Board members offered to support to Mike. ACTION: Mike will create a script and coordinate a discussion to prep for calls.

 

1. Remote Participation

• How best to involve and include non-members who want to participate who are outside of Greenville. Currently Associate Members pay $500 if they are members of another synagogue. Paul suggests we have a longer discussion about how to involve interested people and how it can lead to future growth. The Institute for Southern Jewish Learning may be a resource or connection. ACTION: We will continue the discussion next month. Miriam will make a note to add creating virtual membership details to the overview of Membership committee work.

 

Open Items

1. Calendar planning – Cheryl would like to plan Sisterhood activities and align with other. ACTION: Stephanie will share the link to our CBI calendar.

2. The leased copier has been retired and taken away. The color laser printer is new and installed and much cheaper.

3. The trash pick-up is now discounted.

4. Slack – please make a point of checking Slack notifications over the month, so you don’t miss discussions.

 

Agenda items for the next meeting:

• Remote participation - continued discussion

• The next general Board meeting is Wednesday, September 16, 2020 @ 7pm.

 

Meeting Feedback

• Let’s try to keep our monthly meetings to an hour as much as possible.

 

Meeting ended @ 8:30pm.

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Congregation Beth Israel

General Board Meeting

July 15, 2020

 

Present: Tamar Paltrow, President; Paul Della Maggiora, First Vice President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Terri Jermon, Past President; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood President; Harry Gleich, Board Member at Large; Lenny Reznik, Board Member at Large.  Paul presiding.

 

Old Business

The meeting opened with a question to Mike re land sale: does the continuing COVID crisis mean that the real estate market has changed? Mike said the realtor believes the market is softer but he thinks we can still get the price we wanted for the land, but we can’t know for sure until we get a bid for the land and begin to negotiate the sale.  He reminded us that that such an offer will be contingent on the buyer’s ability to get approval for their development plans.  One update to his written report is that the land has been split into two pieces; that action has to be registered with Greenville County.

 

Miriam encouraged everyone to sign up for the photo directory or indicate that you will submit a photo.  She is currently chasing down those who haven’t responded to her email.  She has added a “friends” and “sponsor” category for those who wish to contribute toward the cost of the directory, and there will also be a page for New Year’s greetings.  In response to questions, Miriam reported:

                1)            There is no dress code for the pictures

                2)            No contact information, only name and photo will be shown as some congregants are

                                concerned about sharing this info.

3)            Congregants are pleased that they will be getting the directory.

 

Terri reported that the Blood Drive will be held from 9:00AM to noon, not 9:00-1:00 as originally scheduled.  She said there are only four appointment slots unfilled and that she assumes walk-ins can be accommodated.  Social distancing is being carefully observed on the bus, and she will be standing by to clean shul bathrooms if someone needs to use one.  Other than that, no one will go into the building.  A “social distance social” may be scheduled at the same time as the blood drive if the weather cooperates.  CBI will receive $20 for each donation and donors will be tested for COVID antibodies and receive those results within a week.

 

High Holidays

 

Paul distributed a survey to the Board for our review before it is distributed to the congregation.  Once approved, the survey will be sent by email and those congregants who do not use computers will be surveyed by phone.  Paul asked that we approve the survey by Monday (7/20).  He further reported that:

1)  The committee is looking at reducing services to 1.5 hours, and if necessary, holding more than one service

2) Irene Goodman consulted ar doctor who says outdoor services that include masks and social distancing should be fine.

3) The rabbi and others are very concerned about in-person services, and the rabbi is in a high risk group.

 

Mike asked whether the decision about how to have services could be accelerated due to fundraising efforts, specifically the Aliyah sale.

 

Discussion followed.  It was suggested that fourteen people be tested two weeks prior to services so those 14 could serve as an in-person minyan.  Cheryl mentioned that Judy Kenter, wife of our former interim Rabbi Barry Kenter, said that at their shul only those 14 people would be in person, everyone else would be virtual.  Sue asked if aliyahs could be virtual; according to Rabbi Marko they cannot. Alternatives to the Aliyah Sale can be sought.

 

Executive Board Training

 

Miriam reminded us that the Exec Board’s next step in our five-part training is our meeting with USCJ next Wednesday, July 22 at 6:30PM.  There is homework (in Slack) to complete prior to the meeting.

 

As a result of training we will build useful job descriptions for all Board, Committee leaders, and staff positions, and describe key committees, among other goals.  We will be able to describe our community and gain insights on community building in small congregations similar to ours.  It was discussed that one of our priorities is providing a review for the rabbi and creating goals for the year with him.

 

Finally, we all provided feedback on the meeting, which was very positive.

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Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting
17 June 2020

Present:

Tamar Paltrow, President; Paul Della Maggiora, First Vice President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Terri Jermon, Past President; Lenny Reznick, At large; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood; Stephanie Alfieri, Religious School; Rabbi Mathew Marko.

 

Meeting called to order at 7:11pm.

Paul made the motion to approve May minutes. Lenny seconded the motion. Minutes were approved.

 

New Business

1. Rabbi Report
   Mike raised the question regarding High Holiday plans. The Rabbi noted fellow congregations are still hesitant to make decisions and will wait. Harry will take the lead on building a committee on planning for our congregation and they will report back to the Board. Mike recommended planning for more than one option, since it’s time to begin coordination efforts. ACTION: Harry will update the Board in Slack as soon as the group assembles and discusses options and a plan.

 

1. Membership Fundraiser Plan
   Miriam highlighted a plan to build a new membership directory for the synagogue. The last photo version was completed in 2010. Alicia Armstrong will be the photographer and not charge for the photo sessions held outdoors at the synagogue this summer. The books will cost $36. Alicia will sell additional photos to families. The books will be printed in time for the High Holidays.  ACTION: Miriam will follow with Mike on additional fundraising incentives.

 

1. Zoom for Hebrew School
   We will take advantage of the current offer to enable free access to all teachers for Zoom by setting up the teachers on CBI email aliases. This will enable everyone to have Zoom IDs for each class. ACTION: Marie will set up emails for Paul. Paul will finalize set up with Zoom and work with Stephanie and the teachers on using Zoom.

 

1. Blood Connection
   Terri shared that the Blood Connection has contacted us about hosting a blood drive at the synagogue. They are also offering virus antibody testing as well as part of this drive. They are offering $20 gift cards as incentive for each donation. The Board is supportive of this needed program. ACTION: Terri will confirm timing and next steps with the Blood Connection team.

 

Old Business

1. Property on Westview

Mike met with a relator yesterday and confirmed the pricing of $575K for the land. It will now go up for sale. As background, the City doesn’t want to get in the middle of the non-deeded small gap of land between us and the community behind us. It will be considered right-of-way and the new owner/developer will need to go before the City for approval for right-of-way access once it’s needed. : Mike will provide us with updates as they develop.

 

1. USCJ Executive Board Training
   Training kicks off later in June with the USCJ team. ACTION: Executive Board members must complete pre-work assignments prior to June 23, 2020.

 

1. Kitchen Support
   Melissa, who has managed our kitchen, will be returning to Greenville. For right now, we do not need kitchen support. We will not make any commitments right now. ACTION: Terri will reach out to catch up with Melissa.

 

Meeting ended @ 7:51pm.

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Meeting Minutes
General Board Meeting
20 May 2020

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Present:

Tamar Paltrow, President; Paul Della Maggiora, First Vice President; Miriam Kutcher, Second Vice President; Mike Ungar, Financial Secretary; Lance Feldman, Treasurer; Sue Lasser, Education; Terri Jermon, Past President; Rick Zepel, At large; Lenny Reznick, At large; Cheryl Gleich, Sisterhood; Vic Alfieri, Men’s Club; Stephanie Alfieri, Religious School; Rabbi Mathew Marko;

Harry Gleich, Committee Chair.

 

Meeting commenced at 7:10pm.

We began with introductions – noting our families, our neighborhoods, our time in Greenville and at CBI.

 

Urgent Business

1. Opening of the Synagogue

Based on current information, we will not resume in person services in the short-term. With summer and the nicer weather in the evenings, the Rabbi suggested we consider setting up an outdoor area for Friday night services. For now we will watch what happens with church services resuming. We will also seek to learn more from USCJ recommendations. : The Rabbi, Harry and Tamar will add an update to the upcoming quarterly newsletter.

 

1. Property on Westview

Mike provided an update after attending a meeting with the city council held on Monday night, May 18th. The neighborhood behind the synagogue had arguments to oppose the property. The city engineers will look at the original plot to review how and why the road was placed where it was/is to identify the issues. We are asked to reach out to city council leaders to explain the situation and our intent with the land sale. The second hearing is scheduled to take place on June 8th. : Mike will provide us with information and details for the outreach request. Everyone will reach out to their local city council leader.

 

1. Summer Programming
   Stephanie and Tamar met to brainstorm summer programming ideas to bring together our families. More details to follow.

 

Previous Board Information

1. Tamar is asking previous Board members to meet with current Board members to discuss and document responsibilities, expectation, limitations, etc. for each role. Previous Board members will help us identify commitments from previous roles which are now assigned to current Board members. ACTION: To former Board members, please meet and/or transfer any and all documentation, books, etc. to current Board members.

 

Current Board

1. Meeting Organization Considerations

Tamar raised a number of considerations for us to discuss. Harry recommended Robert’s Rules for structure. Mike recommended that we consider a regular monthly cadence to keep on everyone’s calendars. Cheryl recommended we have Committee chairs prepare updates. Miriam suggested only questions be discussed during the meetings vs the full update and account noted in the reports. The expectation is that everyone will read the updates in advance of the meetings, so we don’t spend the time presenting the updates. ACTION: Note in your calendars -- we will keep the 3rd Wednesday of the month for our monthly general Board meetings.

 

1. Board Member Expectations

Committee work will be an active part of our Board member responsibilities. ACTION: Tamar will gather the current Committee Chair information from Mindy Levy and share in Slack. ACTION: Board members without current committee responsibilities will note their interests for needed Committee support.

 

1. Slack Application
   Slack is our new communication and report management tool. The recommendation is to download the application onto your computer, phone and/or tablet. Miriam and Paul are happy to provide guidance and support adding new “channels” for specific discussions and information. ACTION: Please download Slack and jump in!

 

1. Rabbi’s Report
   Vic recommended supporting the Rabbi’s request to work remotely while he and Marie travel West to visit their grandbaby. ACTION: The Rabbi will provide additional specifics on their plans.

 

1. Open Discussion
   Cheryl raised a concern that we don’t have access to member contact information. ACTION: Miriam will upload the phone list used to make calls over the last few months in a private Slack channel for our immediate use. ACTION: Paul will investigate a more comprehensive list with Linda and investigate software options designed for synagogues.

 

We also need to create a shared calendar and planning for 2020/2021. : The Rabbi, Tamar and Stephanie will connect and plan and enter information into a shared online calendar. : Terri will order paper calendars for a few who’ve requested them.

 

Meeting ended @ 8:30pm.

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