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Enron Mail |
Dear Jeff,
I left a message on your machine, but I just wanted to say again how much your gift to The Temple means to me, personally. As the current President, one of my big agendas is youth and camping and you have certainly given that a major shot in the arm. We have a fabulous new Youth and Camp Committee Chair in Chris Brice and I do hope that we can all get together when you are here next week. Chris and I met for over an hour just last week to discuss a plan of action to get more kids involved. I thought perhaps from your history of youth group involvement you might be interested in reading my first bulletin article, so I will copy and paste it to the bottom of this email. My son was just elected Programming Vice President of our Youth Group and he will go on the NFTY Exodus trip to Israel next summer. All 3 of my boys are involved in UAHC camps. I believe that that is the single most important thing you can do to instill a love of Judaism in kids today. Well, don't get me started. You see, you have really hit my button on this. Thank you for your kindness and your vision. May this New Year bring you all things good.............. Warm personal regards, Julie Benson 3900 Woodstone Ridge Way Louisville, Ky. 40241 502-228-4106 Why do I want to be President? It is indeed an honor and a pleasure to have become the 16th President of Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom. Having already spent 6 years on the Operating Committee, I've been preparing for a long time. It's very interesting to me that as soon as it became apparent that I was in line for this position, the same question kept coming up from many members, including some of my closest friends. " Why do you want to be President of The Temple?" was asked of me over and over again, especially during this last year. It was always asked with kindness, but extreme curiosity, so I thought that I would take the opportunity of my first bulletin article to give the entire congregation my answer. I grew up in New Orleans at Touro Synagogue and at 15 years old became very involved in my Temple Youth Group (TYG). I was an active member of SoFTY (Southern Federation of Temple Youth) and spent 2 summers at Kutz Camp Institute ( the national Reform high school camp) in Warwick, New York. I taught our Sunday School music and Israeli dance program and just generally embraced the Reform Movement. I spent 5 summers on the staff of the Henry S. Jacobs Camp Institute in Utica, Mississippi. (Sister camp to the Myron S. Goldman Union Camp) Through all of this time, I made life long friends and contacts that are now leaders in their Reform Congregations around this country, as well as UAHC staff members. Growing up active in the Reform Movement, embracing it as a teenager, with my parents' support, has modeled my religious life and I guess that there was no other choice for me, but to do this. There are still other reasons for my taking on this responsibility. I've heard so many times over this past year, "But what about your family? You'll be so busy!" It all comes down to the old saying, "If not now, when?" and I have to add, "If not me, who?" If I, Julie Benson, don't take the responsibility to help in a leadership capacity of my Temple, then who else shall I count on? Can I ask others to do a job that I am not willing to do myself? My children are another reason why I do this. Perhaps, from my example, they will someday feel a sense of obligation to their Jewish community. I would like to think that one day my grandchildren will look upon my picture hanging on the wall of The Temple and appreciate the position that I took to keep their Temple thriving. It's a small, but important job in the scheme of our Jewish world, and I feel very good knowing that I will do my part, to the best of my ability and encourage others to do so as well. The rewards are great. It's the least that I can do and I look forward to much volunteer involvement over the next two years. I now ask all of you to get involved on a committee here at Temple. The list is in this bulletin. Call the chair of a committee that interests you and say, "Count me in!" You'll soon see that rolling up your sleeves feels really good. Together, as a community, we can accomplish great things. As a congregation supporting each other, we will thrive. Let us share our heritage in every way possible. Through our combined efforts we will make The Temple stronger and in the process, I promise that we will also have great fun! Thank you for your confidence and for allowing me this opportunity to serve you, my Temple family......... B'shalom, Julie
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