‘
Amy Friedman
& the staff of
Studio A
wishes everyone a
Very Happy and
Healthy Holiday!!
• t\
NVM,:'‘WW1,,4,:,'%...‘ •
Born: Detroit, 1938
Family: married to Anita; four children; three grandchildren
Business career: Retired president and CEO of PPOM, a subsidiary
of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and executive vice president,
CEO for BCBSM; former senior vice president and CFO and treas-
urer for BCBSM; former vice president and general auditor at Detroit
Edison, director of the Michigan Department of Management and
Budget; Former managing partner and founder of Geller, Naftaly,
Herbach & Shapero, a certified public accounting firm
Community Involvement:
• Past presidencies: Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit,
Jewish Home for Aged
• Federation chairmanships: audit committee, financial opera- .
tions committee
• National offices: Chair, Anti-Defamation League audit and
nominating committees; chair, Council of Jewish Federations Large
City Budgeting Conference; treasurer, Anti-Defamation League
• Board Involvement: AAA of Michigan, Detroit Investment
Fund, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Commission,
Group Hoipiralization and Medical Services Inc., Hillel of Metro
Detroit, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, Barbara Ann
Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, ORT-
Michigan Region, United Jewish Foundation, United Way of
Southeastern Michigan, Walsh College of Accountancy
Naftaly's commitment to the
Detroit Jewish community is centered
on three "pillars:" seniors, Jewish edu-
cation and Israel.
Naftaly became Federation president
in 1995 as one pillar was crumbling.
The Jewish Home for Aged was reel-
ing in 1994 as tremendous quality of
care, financial and labor issues plagued
two Jewish nursing homes in Detroit,
said Margot Parr, Jewish Home and
Aging Services executive director. A
decision was made to close the facili-
ties, move the residents closer to areas
where Jews were migrating, get out of
the nursing home business, and con-
centrate efforts on taking care of a
greater number of seniors.
"Bob was able to see a vision to care
for the older adults in this community,"
Parr said. "It was his No. 1 priority
and, while he had to do the difficult
task of closing those nursing homes, he
also helped us to create an agency to
provide support for over 2,000 people."
He was behind the development of
the Commission On Jewish Eldercare
Services, which connects older adults,
families and caregivers to older adult
services in the Jewish and general
communities, Parr said.
"This was his mission. We should
honor our older adults — not prema-
turely institutionalize our older adults.
We should create a network of support
and services," she said.
"Bob is a man of not many words,
but his words are very powerful. He
clearly thinks through exactly what he
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Bob and Anita Naftaly, 1998
is going to say and, when he says it, it
may be relatively brief, but it has
tremendous impact and great thought
behind it."
What Naftaly did for the elderly
in Detroit, he also did for Jewish
education, while he was Federation
president.
With Dr. Lynda Giles, head of the
Agency for Jewish Education, as a
co-chair, they spearheaded
Federation's Alliance for Jewish
Education to find a way to reach out
to more children.
"What was needed," said Giles,
"was to create an entity that would
be representative of all the education-
al programs and possibilities — and
have that be the voice for people
looking at the Jewish educaticlnal
agenda communally."
Said Naftaly, "We brought together
rabbis and teachers, educators from
the general community, psychologists
and executive- directors of the
schools, teachers and parents — and
we looked at education.".
After many long meetings, and
pages and pages of doodles with a
black felt-tip pen — "It's how he
concentrates," said Dr. Giles — a
plan was formulated.
Besides increasing Federation allo-
cations to day schools and helping
acquire a new home for Yeshivat
Akiva, now in Southfield, the
Alliance looked at improving after-
noon supplemental schools.
"Day schools are important and we
have to help them, but most of our
kids aren't going to go to day
schools," Naftaly said.
A $2 million gift from local phi-
lanthropists William Davidson and
the late David Hermelin formed the .
Hermelin-Davidson Center for
Congregation Excellence in 2000
that allowed Federation to improve
Jewish afternoon school education
and strengthen congregations repre-
senting all streams of Judaism.
Starting with training for Jewish
preschool teachers, the aim is to
work up through the curriculum,
Naftaly said. "If their Jewish content
is more interesting to them and
they're more involved, then they're
going to be more exciting teachers.
"We need to educate our kids and
grandchildren," he said. "If we don't,
then we're likely to lose them."
He also helped develop Federation's
Partnership 2000 region in the
Central Galilee, and various Teen
Missions and Miracle Missions to
Israel.
"It's important to me to be
involved," he said. "If you lead your
life only for yourself, it isn't the right
thing to do."
Bob Naftaly might be a retired
grandfather, but he's far from fin-
ished with helping the Jewish com-
munity.
Known by many as the "go-to guy"
on tough issues, if advice is needed,
he's only a four-top table away. El
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2002
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