$2.00 JULY 10-16 2014 / 12-18 TAMMUZ 5774

theJEWISHNEWS.com

A JEWISH RENAISSANCE MEDIA PUBLICATION

» A Unified Community Orthodox community
gathers to support Federation, Jewish Detroit.
See page 16.

» Game On Jewish-owned online company primed for
more growth. See page 30.

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

» Blue & White NEXTGen community gathers to
celebrate Israel. See page 35.

Miriam
Schloss
of West
Bloomfield
and Brittany
Danzig of
Huntington
Woods at the
Blue & White
party

metro

Fixing The Deficit

JCC losses "worse than projected," says oversight committee.

Happy bridge players fill the spacious Bridge Connection
in Southfield.

Bridging
Generations

The lobby of the JCC
in West Bloomfield.

A

Jackie Headapohl I Managing Editor

fter months of due diligence, the Jewish Community Center's Financial Oversight
Committee (FOC), tasked with taking an extensive look into the JCC's financial challenges,
presented its analysis to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and United Jewish
Foundation boards of directors at a combined meeting on June 26.
The FOC has been meeting weekly since January, working closely with interim JCC CEO Jim Issner,
according to Dorothy Benyas, Federation CFO. The FOC's analysis shows that the "operating loss was
worse than we originally projected," Benyas said.
According to the committee's analysis, the projected operating deficit for the JCC from May 31,
2014, to May 31, 2015, is expected to be about $1.3 million. That higher-than-expected loss cannot be
attributed to any one thing, cautions the committee.
"It came from across the 40 different units that make up the JCC," said Matt Lester, chair of the FOC.
"There is no one thing to point to, nothing glaring or obvious that needs to be fixed. We are going line
by line, program by program, expense item by expense item to find efficiencies $1 at a time:'
Under Issner's leadership, efforts are under way to chip away at that deficit. During the past two
months, about $400,000 in operational savings have been identified and fundamental best business
practices, including more rigorous accounting standards previously lacking, are now being overlaid on
the Center.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

JN

1942 - 2014

Covering and
Connecting
Jewish Detroit
Eve y Week

Michigan Bridge Connection
seeks to attract younger
players to the game.

I

Ruthan Brodsky

Contributing Writer

L

inda Golumbia was surprised by my question
that February afternoon in 2011," recalls Grant
Petersen, 53, of Taylor.
"Out of the blue, I asked her if she and her husband,
Arthur, were interested in selling the Bridge Connection to
me and Mike McDonald.
"Linda said she didn't think so, that she and Arthur
never discussed the possibility, but she would ask him.
When I got home that evening there was a message from
Arthur asking, Are you serious?"'
Negotiations began and the transition to the new own-
ers was announced that June.
This May, the Michigan Bridge Connection opened in
a new Southfield facility as part of the owners' goals to
increase the number of people playing duplicate bridge
and encourage younger people to take up the game.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12