Alas,
I am writing my last Temple Topics article as your President. The past
three years have been nothing short of amazing and I have cherished my
time serving all of you. Together we have accomplished so much and we
all should be proud of the work we have done. I say “we” because nothing
that has happened at TINR these past three years could have happened
without all of your support and dedication. I really want to thank all
of you that volunteered your time, gave your financial support and
guided me during my tenure. While I may not miss all the meetings, phone
calls and emails, I will certainly miss my interactions with all of
you.
Over
the past few months I have thanked many of you and if I thanked
everyone in this column I’d have to take up the whole issue with just
saying “thank you.” All I want to say is that our congregants, clergy
and staff are all amazing and I could not be more proud of all of you.
Our congregants’ dedication to Temple Israel is so heartwarming. Our
Rabbis have done a remarkable job, especially with not having a Cantor
this past year. Cantor Schloss will be a great addition to the Clergy
team and I really look forward to having him join us in July. I have
praised our staff numerous times throughout these past three years but
no amount of praise is enough to thank them for all they have done to
make all of us proud.
I
will single out the officers plus two groups that really helped shape
and move my agenda forward these past three years. Liz Weingast, Mindy
Stark, Stacy Spiegel, Mark Kleinman, Richard Stoerger, David Itzkowitz,
Paul Warhit and Marji Karlin - I cannot thank all of you enough for your
unwavering support. Through many meals and some wine and bourbon, we
were able to create a vision for TINR’s future that Liz will certainly
continue. From the Kehillah expansion, to “TINR 2100” and so many other
projects and initiatives - your support made it all happen.
So
as this chapter of my 40 plus years at Temple Israel closes I am so
looking forward to being just a “regular congregant” and seeing all of
you in the pews and at all the great events that TINR offers.
In closing I really want to thank my family for enduring all the meetings and phone calls that took time away from you. Thank you for allowing me to lead TINR these past three years. I know sometimes it was hard but I also know that I had your love and support. Be careful what you wish for because Barb, Ash, Ari and Ben, I am not sure you are ready to have me around.
Lloyd Robinson
President, Temple Israel
