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GO BIG

OR GO HOME

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If You Build It
They Will Talk

Talmer Bank

W

ith the Industrial
cessful.
n
Revolution came
We often
nt
the building trades.
like to paint
ture
So expansive were they that
a rosy picture
ne
their language permeated our
of life, but t one
ity is
everyday talk. We now integrate
harsh reality
ve when
w he
hen
n
the tools and other aspects of
not to drive
building in daily references.
plastered.
Sy Manello
If you are trying to learn
Pugilists are always trying
Editorial
something new, you are likely
to deck one another.
Assistant
to hammer away at the facts
If someone has seemingly
and procedures, trying to drill
always been around, he may
them home so, in the end, you can nail be referred to as a permanent fixture.
it.
If you enjoy reading, then you may
Pursuing a staple of your diet would admit that books can be windows to
not raise questions, unless it was very
the world, and they may offer you a
unusual. However, pursuing some
door to opportunity.
weird diet might cause friends to ask if
If a friend is a real brick, you will
you have a screw loose.
want to cement that relationship. (I
It is important with any pursuit to
didn’t mean to floor you with that
learn the nuts and bolts of being suc-
one.)

There are still folks who do not want
anyone to breech the glass ceiling in
business; and when someone does, the
narrow-minded might go through the
roof.
This line of thought makes me recall
the dim-sighted worker who picked
up a hammer and saw. (That, you
must know, is in complete disregard
of a “warning” that came to me from
Michael Rosen: He who plays with
words will get PUNished.)

*

editorial

JCC Requires A Multilayered Makeover

C

reating a mosaic of what a 21st-
century JCC should look like
hinges on novel thinking not
only by lay and professional leaders, but
also by users and potential users of all
ages.
As its new leadership team takes
stock of the challenges ahead, the Jewish
Community Center
of Metropolitan
Detroit must seek an
innovative direction
toward staying rel-
evant, engaging and
fiscally responsible.
Imaginative thinking
is paramount to secure
Brian Siegel
the future of our JCC.
Newly hired CEO
Brian Siegel, long
active on the JCC board and various
committees, seems to grasp such a stra-
tegic approach.
That’s welcome news.
The JCC, long an economic drain on
Jewish Detroit, became even more of a
financial liability in late 2013 in the wake
of an announced legacy debt that hit $6
million. Controls ordered by Federation,

the JCC board and interim JCC CEO Jim
Issner drove the debt to below $2 mil-
lion.

PUSHING AHEAD
Repurposing the JCC’s Jimmy Prentis
Morris Building in Oak Park was the
most contentious immediate cost saver,
but more scrupulous accounting of
operational spending will keep costs in
line over the long haul. Excising remain-
ing debt, developing a balanced budget,
building reserve funds, regaining donor
confidence and revamping the governing
board structure are top priorities.
Hitting its 2016 budget goal of break-
ing even would be a real plus for the
JCC. So would addressing the perception
that Detroit Jewry, via its philanthropy, is
subsidizing more JCC users from outside
the Jewish community.
In the March 10 JN article “JCC Gets
New Captain” (page 28), JCC admin-
istrators outlined a bounce-back plan
that includes increased earned revenue,
new leasing opportunities and a revised
membership structure.
Reinforcing that the value of the JCC
goes beyond exercise is key. As JCC

marketing chief Bret Hopman told the
JN, “The JCC is so much more than a fit-
ness facility, offering multitudes of arts,
culture and educational programming,
a first-class preschool and a wonder-
ful summer day camp, serving all age
groups from infants to seniors.”

THE LONG VIEW
While they work to stabilize finances and
invigorate programming, it behooves
Brian Siegel and his team to partner with
the larger Jewish community in spurring
initiatives fertile enough to yield a new,
leading-edge business model for the JCC
to better serve Jews across Metro Detroit
— through the D. Dan & Betty Kahn
Building in West Bloomfield, various
JCC satellite sites, particularly in south-
east Oakland County, and other service-
delivery conduits.
At a pivotal crossroads, the JCC must
step up to show in the court of public
opinion why it still deserves to be called
the central address of the Detroit Jewish
community. The JCC worked hard over
decades to earn that title. To keep it, the
JCC will have to work even harder —
and in a compressed timeframe.

1.25% APY*

15-month CD

800.456.1500

talmerbank.com

* Annual Percentage Yield (APY) of 1.25% is accurate
as of February 16, 2016. The minimum balance to
open a CD and earn the advertised APY is $500,
which must be deposited in a single transaction.
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and Trust). A penalty may be imposed for early
withdrawals. At maturity, the CD will automatically
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instruct us otherwise. Visit talmerbank.com
for current rates, terms and account requirements.

*

2082600

March 31 • 2016

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