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President's Message
By Morris Babani
It is accurate to say that a very limited number of individuals have had the opportunity to serve as
president of SBH. Fewer yet have had the good fortune of serving non-consecutive terms. I consider myself
very fortunate, indeed, to be among this latter group.
I conclude my current term of office with mixed feelings. I am proud of the many accomplishments of the past
two years, and at the same time disappointed that I did not accomplish more. There is so much work to do!
I am proud of our programming committees, both youth and adult. These committees not only plan and execute
amazing programs that bring members and non-members to our Kahal; more often than not they solicit sponsorships,
grants, and other forms of fund-raising. That is how passionate they are about what they do. Many thanks to
Simon Amiel, Larry Adatto, Eli Varon, Rinah Benoliel,
David Benezra, and Susan Marks.
I am proud of our finance committee. Under David N. Azose's leadership, the committee has taken steps to
document how they do what they do, so that future committees will have written guidelines to steer them. They
have made tough decisions, and have advised the board with no punches pulled. This year and last have not been
pretty ones for the synagogue's finances. We are not immune to the economic forces that have plagued the country
in general. Our budget for 2012 will be much leaner and painfully realistic than other budgets of recent years.
Thanks to David and his team – Stan Morhaime, Eli Varon, and Robert
Gladstein.
I am proud of our building committee. Eli Varon, Al Condiotty, Sam
Babani, Michael Benoliel, Mitch Greene, and Francisco
Gonzalez keep our physical plant functioning and attractive, with limited funds but unlimited energy.
I am proud of our security committee. Isaac L. Varon as Chair keeps his finger on the pulse
of the community to determine and prepare for threats that might put us at risk. He also makes sure that we are
positioned to receive grant money to keep our physical property safe. When necessary, and particularly during
the High Holidays, he coordinates the use of outside security personnel to provide a police presence.
Also during the holidays, Jack Haleva coordinates the volunteer greeters, who give up their
time to meet and greet members and guests. While not trained security experts, they provide yet another set of
eyes and ears and help keep us safe. Jack has also been editing and publishing eLaBoz for many, many years.
Hazzak U'Varuch!
I am so proud of our &resident& volunteers. At the risk of leaving someone out, I am going to mention
the ones that seem to always be at SBH when I come around (which is a lot!). Ralph Adatto,
Al Cordova, Beverly Mezistrano, Katherine Scharhon,
Regina Richmond, Eli Varon (of course!)... You keep the joint running more
than you know. Keep up the good work!
I am proud of our two VPs – Simon Amiel and Menachem Maimon. With very demanding
careers and growing families, they coordinated and led several town hall meetings this past year that are going
a long way toward informing our rabbi search process.
I am proud of Gabrielle Azose, David Maimon, and Evelyn Rubinstein-Benzikry.
Gabrielle stepped up to chair the Member Handbook / Directory. David chairs the Endowment Committee and often
volunteers to head up other projects. Evelyn chairs the communications committee and oversees our web site.
All three of these individuals have demonstrated leadership skills, and I have no doubt we will be hearing more
about them and from them in the future.
I am very proud of my wife, Sharon Babani. As recording secretary for the
synagogue, she does a great job of taking notes during meetings, preparing the minutes, and getting them out
in a timely fashion. But more than that, she keeps me grounded. I appreciate her so much.
I am proud of our religious and lay staffs. I am especially proud of Rabbi Benzaquen.
As he approaches emeritus status at SBH, he conducts himself with grace and dignity. Thank you, Rabbi, for
all your years of service. Rabbi Maimon, may HaShem grant you continued good health and
energy for many more years. Rabbi Varon, may you continue to serve our Kahal with your
leadership and beautiful Hazzanut. Larry Almo, you are a great Gabbai, and you have
mastered the art of juggling many balls and not letting any fall to the ground. I love watching you work.
Diana Black keeps our office running smoothly, and Moan Mao keeps our
buildings and grounds neat, clean, and tidy.
And I am proud of our fantastic SBH membership – tha's right, YOU! You are the reason we keep the doors open
and the lights on. You are the ones who volunteer for committees, projects, and events (I'm sorry I cannot
mention every name here). And it is to you that we turn when we need help above and beyond normal dues and
donations. We have had some very successful fund-raisers in the past two years. While they did not necessarily
keep us out of the red, they allowed us to keep our heads above water. I can't thank you enough.
Now, as I said, I am leaving office in a mad dash to finish some projects that are not done yet. I hope to get
our Member Handbook / Directory completed and published before year end. We also have to finish adopting new By-Laws.
Many thanks to Ralph Maimon and David Balint for their countless hours of work
re-writing the By-Laws. The rabbi search process will continue under the leadership of Mo Azose
and Ben Varon.
There are other ideas and projects that I flat out did not get to this time around. I will work closely with the
incoming administration to help ensure a seamless transition of work in progress.
Finally... Please come to the general membership meeting on Sunday, December 11. It is one of the
- Presentation of the 2012 Budget
- Membership Vote on New By-Laws
- Report on Rabbi Search Process
- Election and Installation of Officers and Trustees
It has been a pleasure serving as your president.
All the best,
Morris
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