June 14, 2007 Annual Meeting

Nominating Committee Report

Pursuant to the Sinai Temple Bylaws, President Steve Weiss appointed the following individuals to serve on the 2007 Nominating Committee with him: Linda Kay, Dave Roberts, Glenn Markenson, Diane Friedberg.

At the March 22, 2007 meeting of the Sinai Temple Board of Trustees, the Nominating Committee submitted, and the Board approved the following slate of candidates for election at the June 14, 2007 Congregational Meeting.



Executive Committee 2007 - 2008

President: Dave Roberts
1st Vice President: Rina Miller
Vice President: Roberta Hillenberg-Gang
Vice President: Jeffrey Cossin
Treasurer: Joel Bertuzzi
Financial Secretary: Bobi Steingart
Recording Secretary: Ann Jacobs

Board position commencing June 1, 2007 through May 31, 2009:
David Frank
Rickie Leiter
Jackie Neiman

Board position commencing June 1, 2007 through May 31, 2010:
Mel Chafetz
Marlene Gordon
Steve Katz
Belle Rita Novak
Joel Solomon
Mark Stone
Laurie Weinberg


Pursuant to Article V, Section 3 of the Sinai Temple Bylaws, notice is hereby given to the members of Sinai Temple that this slate will be presented for election at the annual meeting of the Congregation on June 14, 2007 to be held at Sinai Temple. Additional nominations may be made in writing at least 14 days prior to this meeting by petition of at least 20 persons entitled to vote at meetings of the Congregation who are in good standing.

Assuming all nominees are elected, here are the board members and their respective terms of office. The board members are grouped in accordance with their term of office.

Board of Directors for 2007-2008

2005-2008 2006-2009 2007-2010
Nick Ciciretti Andy Chaet Mel Chafetz
Diane Friedberg George Dickstein Marlene Gordon
Susan Goldman David Frank Steve Katz
Peter Greenberg Laura Klein Belle Rita Novak
Howard Kalodner Rickie Leiter Joel Solomon
Andy Moskovitz Elaine Nathan Mark Stone
Sandy Suib-Dutcher Jackie Neiman Laurie Weinberg


MEET THE NOMINEES:

David Roberts, President (2007 – 2009)
A member of Sinai for over 10 years, Dave has most recently served as Treasurer, First Vice President, and as Chairman of the Cemetery Committee. He has a B.A. degree in Sociology and Political Science and an MBA degree with a concentration in Accounting. Retired, Dave is a former Senior Vice President of Fannie Mae in Washington, D.C. where he managed a staff of over 460 and an annual operating budget exceeding $50 million. Dave grew up on a farm in Indiana and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, serving in Texas, Turkey, Berlin, and at the National Security Agency. Dave is a former pilot, an avid reader, and a golf enthusiast. He lives in Somers with his wife, Carol.

Rina Miller, First Vice President (2007 – 2009)
Rina, her husband, Joe Hershon, and their two children (David,18, and Ariel,16) have been members of the Sinai Temple community since 1981. Rina currently serves as one of the Temple's three Vice Presidents. Among other responsibilities, she has been a Member of the Board of Trustees for six years, Project Coordin ator of the Scroll of Life Memorial Plaque, and Chairperson of the Personnel Committee.

In addition to her volunteer work at Sinai Temple, Rina has been involved with the National Council of Jewish Women, the Young Women's Division of the Federation, the J.C.C. Maccabbi Games, and the Western Massachusetts Collaborative Practice Group. A practicing attorney in Springfield, Rina specializes in family law and collaborative law.

Roberta Hillenberg-Gang, Vice President (2007 – 2009)
Roberta, her husband David Gang and sons Jonathan and Nicholas have been members of Sinai Temple for 15 years. Roberta has served on the Board of Trustees for the past six years, the Executive Board for the past two years and, previously, produced the Sinai bulletin. Roberta also serves on the Hadassah Chapter of Greater Springfield Board and the Western Massachusetts Community Advisory Committee of Planned Parenthood. She serves as a Go-FIT mentor, has chaired the Rays of Hope Walkathon, developed the design concepts for the < st1:PlaceName>Hatikvah Holocaust Center's permanent exhibit, served as Co-President of the Springfield League of Women Voters and was a board member of the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum’s Art Rental Gallery.

Roberta is a graphic designer who holds a B.F.A. in Fine Art from Carnegie Mellon University and the San Francisco Art Institute and a B.F.A. in Design from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. She worked as a corporate designer for Corning Glass, an Art Director for the Polaroid Corp., a Design Director for Springfield College, and ran her own design consulting business with a focus on college and private school admission and alumni marketing.

Jeffrey Cossin, Vice President (2007 – 2009)
A member of Sinai Temple since he was a student in the Religious School “many years ago.” Jeffrey has served on the Board of Trustees for several years. He currently is Chair of the Committee on Membership/Synagogue Community and Co-chair of the Shalom Committee. He has served on the Religious School Committee and is currently on the Ritual Committee and Sustaining Membership Committee. Jeffrey can be fou nd every Saturday morning at Torah Study! A physician, he is married to Robin, and they have three children, Elizabeth, Talia, and Zev.

Joel Bertuzzi, Treasurer (2007 – 2009)
Joel has been a member of Sinai Temple with his wife Betsy and children, Matthew, Jared and Jillian since 1996 when they relocated to Longmeadow from Arizona. He works for a local real estate investment firm, Aspen Square Management, and handles condominium development opportunities, property sales, real estate taxes and insurance for the company. His business experience meshes well with his Treasury duties at Sinai Temple. Joel also participates in the temple adult education committee and is a regular at Torah study on Saturday mornings.

When he’s not at Sinai, Joel enjoys sculling on the Connecticut River, scuba diving and traveling. Joel was a Lieutenant in the US Navy where he was a nuclear engineer on a submarine. He has many interesting stories about secret submarine activities . . . which he can’t share with us!

Bobi Steingart, Financial Secretary (2007 – 2009)
Bobi and her husband Richard have been members of Sinai for over 20 years. Their children have been Bar and Bat Mitzvahed with Cantor Mekler and Rabbi Shapiro. Bobi has been active with the Social Action Committee and organized the cooks and servers for Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen as well as organized the Summer Food Drive for the Open Pantry. Bobi is a former teacher, having retired from teaching at the JCC Preschool. She is active in the Red Cross and enjoys spending time with her family, walking in half marathons, reading and learning through travel.

Ann Jacobs, Recording Secretary (2007 – 2009)
Ann has been a member of Sinai Temple for 18 years and has served as recording secretary for the last two years, having served on the board for several years before that. Previously, she has served as chair of the Shalom Committee and the Second Night Seder Committee and worked on numerous other committees.

Ann received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Marquette University and is a copy editor at The Republican in Springfield. She enjoys antiquing, quilting and reading in her spare time. She lives in the Forest Park section of Springfield with her husband Paul and is the mother of Ben, 26, and Alison, 23, who both went through Sinai's religious school and completed Confirmation.

David Frank, Board of Trustees (2007 – 2009)
David and his wife Diane have been members of Sinai for 15 years. His parents, Edward and Iris, as well as his grandparents, Helen and Irving Roth, were longtime Sinai members. David grew up in Longmeadow and had his Bar Mitzvah at Sinai. He has a BA Degree in Sociology from Westfield State. For the past 25 years, he has been employed selling Orthopedic Devices and Med/Surg Products. David was recently promoted to Asepsis Specialist Northeast Region at 3M Healthcare. David coached football at LHS in 1992. He, Diane, a nurse practitioner with Vascular Services of Western New England in Springfield, and their daughter, Jacqueline live in Longmeadow. Jacqueline, who is five years old, is currently in JCC Pre School and will attend Kindergarten at Heritage Academy this fall.

Rickie Leiter, Board of Trustees (2007 – 2009)
Rickie, currently the chair of the Ritual Committee, has been involved in other synagogue activities since joining Sinai. In addition, Rickie is an elected member to the National Board of Hadassah and chairs its Young Judea Alumni Relations Department. She has been a moving force in National Hadassah’s Pikuach Nefesh initiative, encouraging organ donor awareness among the Jewish community especially.

Rickie grew up in Western Massachusetts, involved in her community. She attended undergraduate school in Israel and received her Masters of Social Work from the University of Connecticut. Rickie worked for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in its Jimmy Fund development office in Western Massachusetts and works part time in her husband’s dental office. She enjoys designing and creating jewelry, which is sold in local stores and galleries in Florida. Rickie is married to Jeffrey Leiter. Their son, Adam, was active in Sinai’s youth programs & served as a Religious School teacher.

Jackie Neiman, Board of Trustees (2007 – 2009)
Jackie, her husband Michael and their children Aaron (12) and Madeleine (10) have been members of Sinai Temple for six years. During that time Jackie has been active in a wide variety of temple activities and projects including co-chairing the 75th Anniversary Social Action Committee, co-chairing the Washington School Playground Building Project, serving on the Estate Sale Committee and most recently chairing the 75th Anniversary Student Art Project (the large tile mosaic hanging in the Oneg Shabbat room). Jackie can sometimes be seen fulfilling her lifelong love of p erforming (or perhaps it is her love of public humiliation) in recent Purim plays. However the moment that made Jackie feel most connected to Sinai Temple was when she became a Bat Mitzvah this past December as part of the adult B’not Mitzvah class.

Jackie and her family have been residents of Longmeadow since 1999 where her children attend public school. Jackie has been very involved in both community and school organizations serving first as vice-president of Longmeadow Newcomers Club and then as President of both Center School and Blueberry Hill Schools’ PTOs.

Jackie is a speech pathologist by profession, having earned her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin (go Badgers!) and her M.A. from Northwestern University in Chicago. She currently works as a therapist in an early intervention program and occasionally moonlights as an adjunct professor at Elms College. In her free time she enjoys making jewelry, reading, traveling and enjoying life with her husband and children.

Mel Chafetz, Board of Trustees (2007 – 2010)
Mel has been a member of Sinai Temple since 1985. During that time he has served on the Religious School Committee, Board of Directors, Executive Committee and has been vice president and president of the Temple. He co-chaired Project Soul with Steve Weiss. He and his wife, Beth, co-chaired the first Israeli Art Show and are co-chairing it again this fall. Mel has also served on the Springfield Federation B oard and was chair of its education committee. Mel and Beth live in Suffield, Conn. He is currently the principal of the McAlister Intermediate School in Suffield. His daughter, Jessie is graduating this spring from the Massachusetts College of Art and his daughter, Elana, is finishing her second year of teaching eighth grade with the Canton, Conn. schools. Beth is also an eighth-grade teacher with the Suffield Schools.

Marlene Gordon, Board of Trustees (2007 – 2010)
A member of Sinai for 22 years, Marlene has most recently served as co-chair of the Mission Statement Committee, a member of the Membership committee, and as a member of the Board of Trustees. She has also previously served on the Executive Committee as Financial Secretary and Vice President. Marlene has a B.A. degree in Elementary Education and a M.Ed. in Learning and Behavior Disorders, and currently teaches preschool at the Jewish Community Center. Marlene and her husband, Jim, are both originally from Louisville, Ky., and have lived in Longmeadow for 25 years. They have three daughters, each of whom attended Religious School, became a Bat Mitzah, and was confirmed at Sinai.

Steve Katz, Board of Trustees (2007 – 2010)
Steve has been a member of Sinai for more than 15 years. He lives in East Longmeadow with his wife, Phyllis, a teacher at the Religious School, and their children Samantha (22), Nicholas (19), Theodore (15) and Andrew (10). He holds a B.A. in English/History, a M.A. in Journalism, and a law degree. He has been a lawyer at MassMutual for the past 25 years, specializing in bankruptcy/"workout" matters. He grew up in Queens, New York, and remains a passionate supporter of the Mets and Jets. Steve has been a volunteer for Rachel's Table for more than 13 years, and has participated in several volunteer projects for Habitat for Humanity and the Mass. Association for the Blind. He enjoys running, travel, reading, community theater, fishing and coaching kids sports.

Belle Rita Novak, Board of Trustees (2007 – 2010)
Born in New York, Belle Rita moved to Longmeadow at age 7. She attended Longmeadow schools through high school and Boston University for 1 ½ years. &n bsp;She married Leonard Novak at Sinai Temple in March 1961 and moved to Manchester, NH. Belle Rita has three children, David, Jeffrey, and Jennifer. Lenny died in 1973. Belle Rita moved to California in 1976, returning to Longmeadow in 1981. She moved to Springfield in 1984 and graduated from UMASS in 1986.

Belle Rita has been involved in many volunteer activities. She has worked as an insurance agent, and several other jobs over the years. For the past 10 years she has had her own business, Your Fairy Godmother, where she says, “I’ll do anything for anyone as long as it’s legal and I want to do it.” She is the proud grandmother of Alex and Evan Novak.

Joel Solomon, Board of Trustees (2007 – 2010)
As a third generation member of Sinai, the temple has been a big part of Joel Solomon’s life. His grandparents, the late Rebecca and Herman Steinberg, were founding members of Sinai Temple. Joel has been a life-long member of Sinai. In addition to attending Sinai Temple’s Religious School, he was Bar Mitzvah’d and Confirmed at Sinai. Joel and his wife, Lynn, were married at Sinai Temple in 1994. Joel has served on the membership committee in 2001, has been on Sinai’s Religious School Committee since 2003 and has chaired the Single Session Sunday School Sub-Committee and served on the House Committee from 2002 - 2006. He is also a member of the Occasional Sinai Band. Joel is President of Superior Industrial Products Corp., a distributor of industrial maintenance supplies in West Springfield. Joel, his wife Lynn, and his children Abigail (9) and Dena (5) live in Longmeadow.

Mark Stone, Board of Trustees (2007 – 2010)
Mark has been a life-long member of Sinai Temple and represents the third generation of his family to belong to the congregation. His involvement at Sinai includes being a member of the Religious School Committee, Co-Chair of the Sinai Temple Furniture Sale and serving on several sub committees. Mark attended UMASS at Lowell where he received his BS in Management Information Systems. He is the President of Northeast System Design, Inc. a computer and network integration company located in East Longmeadow that he started 19 years ago. Mark currently lives in Longmeadow with his wife Melanie and his children Andrew, 11, and Lauren, 9.

Laurie Weinberg, Board of Trustees (2007 – 2010)
Laurie Weinberg has been a member of Sinai since 1985. She and her four children have all had Bar or Bat Mitzvahs at Sinai, beginning with Waverly in 1991 and ending with Laurie in 2006. She is currently chairperson of the Adult Education Committee. She has taught an adult Hebrew class, and co-chaired the 2006 Women's Torah program. Laurie is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Longmeadow and lives in Wilbraham. She has four children Waverly, Jesse (now Oren), Lane, and Courtney and two grandchildren. Laurie loves to read and dabble in piano, knitting and quilting.

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