theOPTblog

This has fortunately been a pretty unstressfull year at OPT. As far as I know, there have been no major disasters, no scandals, no threats, no fires, no one on the staff has quit, and the roof hasn’t caved in. Unlike in the beginning, when I thought my entire presidency would be marked by transition, we’ve had a remarkably stable year. While our finances could always look better, we’re holding our own. People are attending services and we use every inch of space we have on Sundays. New events have brought us together and many more are planned for the future. All in all its been a pretty good year. You can read about it in my message in the Annual report, so why waste your time now?

After more than 31 months (not that I was counting), I’m finally being replaced as President of this congregation. As your next president, Jeff, mentioned at the last Board meeting, it looks as though I have held the job longer than anyone else in our congregation’s history. Sometimes it has felt like I’ve been doing this my whole life and other times, I felt as though I just took over the job. While only my hairdresser knows for sure how much grayer I’ve gotten during the last 2 ½ years, I certainly know how much I have gained from the experience. Aside from loosing my fear of public speaking, and maybe a few hours of sleep obsessing about certain issues, I have made so many new friends I couldn’t begin to count. And as I’ve mentioned time and again in speeches and in writing, I’ve truly found a home that I can’t imagine ever leaving.

There are many people that have helped make the job of the president easier, and I’d be here way passed the first kick off if I started mentioning them all, but a few deserve extra attention. I’m proud to admit that I was involved in hiring Danielle Sandler, and with out her, this place would definitely not be as stable as it currently is, both literally and figuratively. Our almost daily conversations, which often took place even on her vacation and sick days will be missed. However, I hope that now we can be friends since I will no longer be her employer. One past president, Marsha Cooper, really stepped up as my mentor and friend, thank you. And especially my friends who listened to me kvetch, especially those of you who met me for lunch weekly for “therapy”.. I owe you. Finally, I’ve been blessed with a terrific exec board who whipped this place into shape and made it almost easy to be a leader. Thank you all.

And now my final story…


At last year's URJ Biennial, I attended a gathering of congregational leaders. There, I overheard one man asking a woman, who looked to be my age, how it was that she came to be President. Well, she responded matter- of -factly, "When you join my temple you get a beautiful silk bag filled with glittering glass marbles. And each time you volunteer you return one marble to the temple office. When you have finally lost all your marbles..... they make you President!"

So, when you go home, check your bag of marbles… you may be up here soon.