Date: August 21, 2007
Present: Fran Kolin, Barbara Schildcrout, Edna Rosen, Barbara Ringel, Suellen Eshed, Anna Rulnick, Bobby Kolin, Marcia Muskat, Elaine Lavine
Welcome Back
Welcomed back all our committee members. Hoped they had a great summer. Highlighted that this is our 60th Anniversary year, and it should be wonderful. As members of this committee, we are charged with acting as the eyes and ears of our Temple . We have to speak to people, listen to them, help them make connections that will make them happy, and help them make a place for our Temple in their lives.
Mets Game: Unfortunately, we started off with a problem. Jewish Heritage Day at Shea Stadium, the Mets game scheduled for Sunday, August 26th at 1:10 p.m., was changed to an 8:05p.m.start time. Several people have opted to not go to the game at that time. Ticket policies are making us exchange those unused and unsold tickets to the designated Exchange Date of Sunday, September 30th, which is the last game of the season, and will definitely remain a 1:10 start time. These tickets will be offered to those who cannot go to this Sunday’s game. I don’t think we should pursue this event next year. (Post-meeting note: only 9 of us showed up at the game.)
New Member Count: At this time, we have 9 new members. (Last year at this time, we had 38 new members, due to the doubling in size of the Religious School .) Three are in the Young Members category, 4 are Religious School families, and 2 are older adults. We haven’t received any information about terminations yet.
HHD at HUC: Our High Holy Day Services will be held primarily on the Lower Level of Hebrew Union College. This change from the Dental School has many people unsettled. Members of this committee will all do our part in reassuring our members that services will be lovely and meaningful as usual, and that transportation issues are being looked at by the Board of Trustees. A little cheerleading won’t hurt, and we want everyone to look forward to sharing this space and time with us. (Post-meeting note: no bus or jitney will be provided, but a notice in the Templet will ask that people who would like assistance with traveling will call the Temple , and be matched up with someone from the “East End Temple Taxi Team”, or something to that effect. Receipts for travel should be submitted to the Temple ’s Transportation Fund. This project may include members of the Youth Group, under the supervision of its president, Matthew Eshed.
20’s-30’s Luncheon on RH: One of our newer traditions will be repeated this year, as the 20’s/30’s Group will meet for a Rosh Hashanah Luncheon at the Temple immediately following morning services.
This allows these people the opportunity to form friendships, network, and welcome new faces. Anna Rulnick is the contact people for this event. If you know anyone who might be interested in attending, please let them know. The cost for this luncheon has generally been covered by some sponsorships within the group. As this group has grown significantly, it may be necessary for us to underwrite some of the expenses.
Comp HHD Tickets for Conversion Students
As is our custom, I have reminded David to offer complimentary HHD tickets to his conversion students and their partners, and to provide the Temple Office with a list of takers. This shows our most welcoming aspect to those in the process of becoming Jews, and encourages them to maintain their connection with EET.
Flyer Stand/ Umbrella Bags: Over the summer, a new rack for flyers was purchased and placed outside the coat room in the Sanctuary Lobby. As you mingle with new people or members, please be sure to point out this newer version of the Infocart, which should have flyers on many upcoming events. The Temple will also be purchasing an Umbrella Bag Stand, so people can put wet umbrellas into plastic bags and hang them with their coats. Fewer lost umbrellas that way. Hopefully, these small courtesies add up to Customer Satisfaction, which equals Member Retention.
Shabbat Open House, Friday, September 7: Our big issue this time of year is our Shabbat Open House, scheduled for Friday evening, September 7th. It will start with a “meet and greet” at 5:30, followed by a 6:15 service. Then an Oneg Shabbat Reception to follow. I have asked the Rabbi, the Cantor, the Educational Director, the Administrator, the Board of Trustees, and this committee to attend. This is the only Shabbat service after Labor Day before the HHD. Hopefully, there will be prospective members with us, as well as people who have been away for the summer. Volunteers from this committee will perform a number of tasks…writing name tags for those who stop by to meet us, and signing people in on our Guest Info sheets, which we do when we hand out membership packets. We need this visitor info so we can make follow-up phone calls. These jobs will be done both at 5:30 and again after services. Suellen and Edna have agreed to be there for the 5:30 start.
Jewish Comfort Food Fair, Sunday, October 28: The JCFF Committee has had its first meeting. A few changes have been made to keep the event fresh. Take-out containers will be available at no charge so people may take their food with them. Suellen is the Chair of this event. We hope that the choice of this date, which is neither the NYC Marathon, nor Superbowl Sunday, brings us a larger crowd. Set-up will begin at 2 p.m., with serving to the public from 4-6 p.m. We encourage all Temple members to enjoy the cooking and baking (and shopping) expertise of our members.
Budget Line: I have asked for and received an increased budget line of $750 this year. With our tremendous increase in membership last year, we want to be prepared for whatever comes up.
Pride Parade: At this year’s Pride Parade, we had about a dozen people marching down 5th Avenue . Unfortunately, not all of them were Temple members. But wonderfully, our Rabbi was marching with the group. Our plans for a car never materialized, primarily because we had no driver. We hope to remedy this situation next year. However, our marchers did a great job of carrying both our EET banner and the banner of URJ, our umbrella organization. Our sidewalk cheering section was small but lively, and greeted them as they passed 17th Street and 5th Avenue . I had a sign that said EAST END TEMPLE HAS PRIDE! It got great feedback from many marchers. There were about 250 whistles, noisemakers, and chachkas handed out by our marchers, and each one had the Temple ’s name, website address, and the phrase “All are welcome”. This direct method of advertising puts our info right into the hands of people along the parade route. Dan Cherubin was the point person and a Marshall for this event. His recommendations for next year’s Parade include securing a car, increasing the number of people participating from our Temple and the number of souvenirs handed out, and possibly having shirts made to identify and unify our group. There was some discussion about the possibility of having shirt designs come from the art of the children of the Temple . The Pride Parade has generally been held on the last Sunday in June.
New Service Times: FYI, the first 3 services of the month will be at 6:15. The second 6:15 service will be a Synaplex service. The fourth service of the month will be a 7:30 service with Torah reading. Hopefully, this new, more standardized schedule will help people avoid mistakes in arrival time.
Good & Welfare: We have been notified that the Yom Kippur Break Fast will be free of charge, as opposed to the original plan put forth. Reservations still need to be made to attend, due to space limitations. A few generous donors have stepped up to help cover the costs of this wonderful event. A few more donors would be ideal.
Matthew Eshed is in the process of becoming an Eagle Scout. We wish him the best of luck, and expect to hear more about his accomplishments. <>
Respectively submitted,
Fran Kolin, Chair
V.P., Member Services
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