President’s Report
Welcome to the 15th annual meeting since our Congregation moved to Skokie. The last annual meeting was held on August 27, 2008. We wish to express our appreciation to our hard working Board of Directors as well as to the equally hard working Women’s Council for their dedicated service. Thanks to the synergy of these Boards, we have made significant progress this past year. What follows is a brief summary of selected accomplishments from the past year.
I. Membership
We mourn the loss of members that have passed away this past year and wish good luck to those families that have moved out of state or out of the neighborhood. We have attempted to reach out and communicate with our membership and perspective membership in different ways to keep members and interested others informed. We have expanded our web site, sent out E-mail blasts on a regular basis and utilized targeted marketing. Our efforts have been appreciated and as a result, we have offered many new events and events offered in the past have had record attendance this past year.
II. Financial
With G-d’s help, the Congregation is doing well financially thanks to record attendance at events, new events and contributions to the endowment fund. We ended the calendar year on December 31, 2008 with a surplus for the fifth year in a row, all of this without raising dues or fees. This is quite an accomplishment give the deepening recession that we are in and given the significant losses being experienced by local and national charities. We continue to rent out the social hall for community events. This past year the mortgage was renewed at a quarter point lower interest rate and we continue to reduce the balance on the outstanding mortgage and meet our annual operating expenses. For the third year in a row, the Board has decided to waive the building fund requirement for all new members. In this way, we hope to further increase and expand membership and revenue. Please contact members of the membership committee or Ben Zion Lazovsky with any prospects that have expressed interest in our Congregation. The endowment fund continues to expand and naming opportunities are available for either rooms or programs. During 2008 we dedicated the Maury and Helen Kaufman Bais Midrash as well as the Adele Goldblum Woman’s Council. The Endowment Committee is always attempting to solicit new gifts. In that regard, if there is anyone present that would like to meet with Michael Hartz, myself and/or the Rabbi, please let us know after this meeting.
III. Physical Plant
In terms of the physical plant, thanks to the generosity of many different individuals we have made and are in the midst of making many improvements including a new roof. We continue to receive high marks from the Skokie Board of Health for cleanliness of our Kitchens. This past year the Congregation applied for a 2009 Urban Areas Security Grant which was not awarded.
IV. Programs, Ritual Events and Torah Learning Opportunities
Thanks to our hard working event chairpersons we had lovely programs and events this past year including: Auf Rufs, Sheva Berachot, L’chaims and bar and bat mitzvahs. We held events for all of the holidays starting with our Pre-Selichot Lecture, Simchat Torah Luncheon, Chanukah and Purim events and Graduation Kiddush. Our kiddushes boast the best cholent far and away in the North shore. The lovely All Occasion Card is utilized by all. We have continued to expand all three of our libraries adding digital capacities rather than cassette tapes for the Torah classes presented by Rabbi Moshe Soloveichik, S”hlita. In addition to the four regular shiuriim and Haggadah Shiur, we have expanded Torah learning and chesed opportunities. The Boys Mishna Club met throughout the year and Ben Zion and Eliyahu Lazovsky were available to learn with members of the Congregation. This year for the first time, a beautiful Shabbaton and Melavah Malkah were held with the well known radio personality Michael Medved. A Shabbat lunch was held that concluded with Sheva Berachot. In the evening over three hundred members from the Jewish and general community attended the Melavah Malkah. The event concluded with a book sale and a book signing. Our annual JUF brunch was very successful, featuring Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz, the internationally renowned physician and expert in medical ethics who spoke on the topic of medical ethics. The 2009 Kesser Maariv annual dinner also had the largest attendance of any shul dinner since moving to Skokie.
V. Adele Goldblum Women’s Council
The Women’s Council provides direct financial and spiritual support to the Congregation. The Council had a very active and successful year with numerous activities including the annual membership event which featured comedienne Caryn Bark. They also hosted a pre-Rosh Hashanah boutique, shop and share days, book reviews, knitting group, woman’s only shalosh seudot and annual week of learning.
VI. Chesed Committee
Due to the recession, the Chesed Committee has been extremely busy this past year. For the first time, over ten thousand dollars were distributed in Maot Chittim funds for Passover. Families were helped in many other ways during the year as well. The Congregation held our first blood drive with Life Source and staffed efforts to find bone marrow transplant donors. A member of the Congregation was actually a match and donated at an area hospital. In terms of Chesed opportunities, the Chesed Committee works tirelessly to respond to the full range of needs of members who experience a loss, are sick or in need of other types of assistance due to a birth. We visited the sick in Skokie Hospital on Chanukah and delivered plants before Shavuot to CJE’s Robineau Residence. The Kesser Maariv Kids visited the Ark after the culmination of our most successful annual food drive and members served as waiters and waitresses at Café Ark.
VII. Conclusion
Kesser Maariv is special for many reasons. We are the oldest Orthodox Congregation in the Midwest located on a beautiful modern one acre campus with ample parking. We are an institution that has been and continues to be a center of Torah, Avodah and Gemilut Chesed for over One Hundred and Forty Two Years. We hold daily Minyanim, offer outstanding shiuriim and programming for men, woman and children and have three wonderful libraries. We are blessed to have more than just shul members, we have a true covenantal community and a congregation comprised of caring individuals that are truly an extended family. We continue to adhere to the three basic tenants of a Mikdash. We are a place of Torah, Avodah and Gemilut Chesed. We thank you for your past generosity and trust that we will merit your future support.