Looking Forward

Despite budget cuts and tough decisions,
JCC, at annual meeting, anticipates progress.

SHARON LUCKERMAN
Staff Writer

T

he 74th annual meeting of the Jewish
Community Center of Metropolitan
Detroit began with a blessing by Rabbi
Jonathan Berkun over the mezuzah
placed on the doorway of the new Milk & Honey
restaurant in the West Bloomfield JCC building.
The June 19 dedication ceremony also honored
Hugh and Carolyn Greenberg of Franklin, whose
contribution made the restaurant possible.
"The words 'milk' and 'honey' are not just items
that might be found on the menu," said Rabbi
Berkun of Congregation Shaarey Zedek, "but biblical
reminders of the blessings and the bounty bestowed
upon us and especially on the land of Israel, which is
called in the Bible: 'the Land of Milk and Honey.'"
He added, "Israel is in our thoughts and prayers
these months as much as it has ever been."
The meeting, underwritten by Bank One
Foundation, continued in the Marion and David
Handleman Hall and Auditorium, where annual meet-
ing chair Harry Eisenberg welcomed the 250 guests.
In her - report, JCC President Sharon Hart did not
ignore the effects of Sept. 11 and the Palestinian
intifizda (uprising) against Israel, but added, "Even
in difficult times, we have much to be thankful for."
Though the JCC had to trim staff to balance its
$10 million budget, she said it still boasts the biggest
Jewish book fair in the country and the largest start-
up group of its kind in the country in the Florence
Melton Adult Mini-School, co-sponsored with the
Agency for Jewish Education of Metropolitan Detroit.
"The mandate established by our executive com-
mittee, our Federation and our board to balance our
budget was heard loud and clear," she said. "It perme-
ated every decision, every program and every activity.
It was a year of challenge, but a year of success."
She said the JCC also is proud of its Seminars for
Adult Jewish Enrichment program, which drew 604

students; Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival, which
sold 11,000 tickets; the Pitt Child Development
Center, which exceeded expectations by enrolling 185
children; the special needs and inclusion programs for
adults and children; and the more than 1,000 children
who signed up for summer camp, making Detroit's
one of the largest Jewish day camps in the country.
Hart praised the renovations at both JCC build-

ings, which includes the soon-to-reopen social hall
at the Jimmy Prentis Morris Building in Oak Park,
and the Inline Hockey Center, Handleman Hall and
Auditorium and Milk & Honey restaurant at the D.
Dan and Betty Kahn Building in West Bloomfield.
She spotlighted the renovation of the Kahn
Building's sports and fitness wing, a 57 million proj-
ect that will conclude the $33-million JCC renova-
don plan started in 1999 through the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit-sponsored
Millennium Campaign for Detroit's Jewish Future.
This wing has become controversial because it
requires closing all 16 courts used for racquetball,
squash and handball. The Center's more than 200 reg-
ular players had expected to have a representative
speak during the annual meeting. Instead, he was rec-
ognized to speak after the meeting adjourned, but

Left: Rabbi
Jonathan Berkun,
who dedicated the
Milk & Honey of
West Bloomfield
restaurant, greets
benefactors Hugh
and Carolyn
Greenberg.

Mike Ketai
of Beverly Hills
• studies the
floor plan for
the upcoming
renovation
of the JCC
sports and
fitness wing.

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