From the Desk of the President

Saying goodbye to our long time employee and friend

I was able to put together a thank you and goodbye to Rebecca from the community already. But, I wanted the opportunity to offer my own thank you and goodbye. So, I start this bulletin article by offering these memories, thank you, and well wishes.

Rebecca, let me start by saying that I am not sure what I am going to do without you and am somewhat sorry for those that have to replace you. You have meant so much to Temple Beth El, to me, and to my family. You are the calm voice that keeps me grounded and also reminds me to get it together and get your stuff in. You have offered so much wisdom during my time as President, and you will be missed. I do not know Temple Beth El without your smile (even if behind a mask) when I enter the office. I do not know an answer on the phone other than, “Shalom, Temple Beth El, this is Rebecca.” My kids will miss coming in to see you and I am sure it has nothing to do with the bowl of candy on the counter in front of your desk.

I know that you will continue to do great things, and I am glad to have worked with you over the last few years. Please do not be a stranger. We will keep you on the email list that you worked so hard to maintain and we will pass on everything that is going on. Feel free to come by at any time as you are part of this community.

A brief update on the transition effort

Over the summer the Transition Task Force finished working with our consultant Rabbi Allison Flash (Candy Jar Consulting). We are grateful to Rabbi Flash as this is an effort that needed an outside voice and a person to keep us going through some very long and emotional conversations. Rabbi Flash put together the final report with a review by the Transition Task Force titled “Final Report for Staffing Model: Report for the Transition Task Force”. This report was presented to the Board of Trustees during the August 17 meeting. The report and board presentation will be made available on the website: https://www.tbetacoma.org/announcements?post_id=1179673. After this meeting, the Board of Trustees had a number of clarifying questions that were then answered in the September meeting or forwarded onto the groups completing the next phases of the transition process. It has been decided that the Transition Task Force will remain only as a body to draft communication regarding the process. The real work has now moved onto a number of subgroups (task forces). A task force has been created as defined in the report for each of the immediate positions and job descriptions we are looking to create and hire or redefine and hopefully rehire. This is an important step forward in the transition process as we are actually moving from concept into action steps.

The Rabbi Search Task Force has already been formed and approved by the Board of Trustees. They have been working since this summer. The Rabbi Search Task Force has submitted an application to CCAR and are awaiting applicants to review. The following new task forces have been created and were presented at the October 19 board meeting:

• Cantor Contract Team: Creation of a new contract that will be presented to Cantor Fine. This will also be subject to a vote of the Congregation at the May 2022 annual meeting.
• Director of Education/Religious School Principal: Creation of a job description of a part-time religious education director dedicated to the religious school and families with children (birth to age 12).
• Director of Administration: Creation of a job description of a full-time Director of Administration also sometimes called an Executive Director. This is a new position for Temple Beth El and therefore includes many diverse voices on the task force including existing staff members. They will also be tasked with developing a timeline for hiring based on the current transition needs and the future needs of the entire organization.

Two other positions were identified in the report—we will work on either including these in the existing structure or hiring in the future when funding becomes available. These positions are a Youth Advisor and a Director of Membership Experience.

The transition team will work on monthly updates on the progress of the various task forces. This will be placed in the bulletin and here on the website.