PJTC Board: April '21 Report & Message From Our New Board President
Board Report | Message From Stacey Sharp
The Board of Directors met on March 22 and approved spending up to $150,000 to repair the Wohlmann Hall roof. The project, which is expected to take about 3-4 weeks to complete, may require B’nai Simcha students to use alternate spaces on the PJTC campus during the construction period.
The board heard an update from Executive Director Beryl Strauss, including the news that PJTC will receive a second Paycheck Protection Program loan in addition to a couple other grants. They also had the opportunity preview the new FLAME format – debuting this month – and the new PJTC blog.
The board approved a name change of the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation to the PJTC L’Dor V’Dor Foundation. The foundation, which originated at Shaarei Torah prior to its merger with PJTC, oversees the endowment.
Outgoing President Geoff DeBoskey thanked the board for their work over the past couple years. The new board, which is led by Stacey Sharp, introduced themselves at the meeting and officially began their duties April 1.
Rebecca Johnson, PJTC Board Secretary
Message From Our Incoming Board President
Many people ask me, “Why do I want to become PJTC’s next president?” In my recent spare time, I’ve tried to reach out to many past presidents to gain insight as to why they became president to see if I could find any common thread. And, I did. None of us campaigned, none of us ran an election, none of us were contested, and no one taped signs to the wall, “Vote for me.” However, all of us care deeply about the people who make up this community. Now I have had experiences and held positions that lead me to this moment: member at large, secretary, VP of Programs, and VP of Management. I’ve chaired many successful committees here, too…. I believe my last 2 were a great success because of my co-chair Matt Ober and the members of our committee and because they yielded Rabbi Aimee and Rabbi Carrier. In short, we worked together as a community.
The most important things that I would like out of this presidency boil down to 3: 3 words that all begin with the C: The first one, I said this C word many times already. Community. The second is our commitment to community, and the third is our connection as a community.
1st C: Community: My family has been part of this community for about 20+ years before we had a family. We were quickly welcomed which brings me to the second C, commitment to community. This community makes a commitment to show up for every simcha, for every sadness and for every day in between. It is incredibly special that we have an actual committee of about 50 volunteers headed by Claire that whenever anything is needed, she puts out a message and within minutes, there are dozens of positive responses.
The 3rd C: Connection: So, let me tell you about connections made since the moment I entered PJTC because it defines why I am becoming president:
- Jan Pais smiled at me and my family. Yes, when we walked through the door and into the lobby, we didn’t get far when this amazing lady took us in her arms and welcomed us.
- Edie Taylor: showed an interest in our then growing family
- Anita Landau: approached me and told me all about her family and introduced us to Jeff, who quickly became our family’s “tickle monster”
- Beryl: quickly became friends with that sweet smile
- Judy Callahan and B’nai Simcha: and all the playdates that followed for years to come, the lifelong friends made with so many families
- LBSRS: all the teachers who became friends; Anat, Sondra, Kaileh, Tammy and parents of our children’s friends too many to name who we made through volunteering, chaperoning, carpooling, connections that I hope last a lifetime
- Bar Mitzvah Committees: working in the kitchen to make a festive oneg to help celebrate family simchas
- Cantor: the first time we met, Jarrett was studying for his Bar Mitzvah and you promised that you would be here for all Sharp bar mitzvahs and here you still are.
- Melissa: who took my kids under her wing as she does with all our children to make them leaders
- Holidays celebrated together at synagogue and also in our backyard with our community compadres.
It’s because of YOU, because you showed up at 5 brises, you showed up when we needed you, you add meaning, relevance, happiness, and importance to my family and now it’s time for me to give back and I hope I show up in the way this community consistently and continuously shows up being together physically and being together separate from afar. Physical boundaries didn’t define us this past year because we are a connected community thanks to all past presidents, board members, and fellow congregants. It is my hope to continue to grow and to deepen this community’s connection in more ways now more than ever.
In the months ahead, I hope to continue this new virtual age of adding more avenues of connection by strengthening our own community and by finding other like-minded Jews beyond our borders through various options of texts, apps, websites, blogs, emails, zooms, etc. Synagogue can now come to us as much as we go to synagogue. And, like you all, I can’t wait for the day when we actually “DO GO TO” synagogue.
We have so much to look forward to: the day it is safe for all to physically come together. Our centennial celebrations, our capital campaign that will hopefully yield many upgrades to our facility that even further promote community, commitment to community, and connection for the next 100 years. It’s all very exciting and I am humbled to be President during this very special time in our history.
Stacey Sharp, PJTC Board President
