6 | JULY 20 • 2023
1942 - 2023
Covering and Connecting
Jewish Detroit Every Week
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DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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News will inform and educate the Jewish and general community to preserve, protect and sustain the Jewish
people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel.
VISION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will operate to appeal to the broadest segments of the greater
Detroit Jewish community, reflecting the diverse views and interests of the Jewish community while advancing the
morale and spirit of the community and advocating Jewish unity, identity and continuity.
DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205,
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
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thejewishnews.com
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The Detroit Jewish
News Foundation
| Board of Directors:
Chair: Gary Torgow
Vice President: David Kramer
Secretary: Robin Axelrod
Treasurer: Max Berlin
Board members: Michael J. Eizelman
Larry Jackier, Jeffrey Schlussel,
Mark Zausmer
Executive Director:
Marni Raitt
Senior Advisor to the Board:
Mark Davidoff
Alene and Graham Landau Archivist Chair:
Mike Smith
Founding President & Publisher Emeritus:
Arthur Horwitz
Founding Publisher
Philip Slomovitz, of blessed memory
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guest column
‘A Day in the Life (Over Nine Years)
on the Jewish Family Service Board’
I
received this letter from
a board member to share
with the Jewish Family
Service Board, and I want
the community to read it,
too. Volunteering on a board
is a selfless act
that doesn’t
get enough
attention, and
done well, is
priceless!
Dear Jewish
Family Service
Board of Directors:
I’ve had the good fortune
to be involved with Jewish
Family Service for 25 years —
first as a Foundation funding
partner and then as a board
member.
During that time, I
witnessed growth and change,
worked with great lay and
professional leaders to
oversee, create (like the Jewish
Coalition Against Domestic
Abuse), change and even
eliminate programs, as well
as to plan for the future, i.e.,
strategic planning.
I had opportunities to
discuss governance issues with
fellow Executive Committee
members. Two very patient
CFOs gently guided me
through volumes of finance
spreadsheets and instructed
me on accrual accounting
concepts, greatly expanding
my bandwidth.
Mostly, I worked with
two amazing development
professionals to support
their building of a well-oiled,
successful development
program, starting with almost
no fundraising outside patchy
board giving, growing our
annual Friends Campaign
and participating in inspiring
Spotlight Events (I, and
others, rolled up my sleeves
not just to raise money, but
also to schlep a lot of pink
geraniums). All of this has
been ably led by terrific board
chairs, development staff and,
of course, Perry!
As an Executive Committee
member, I had the opportunity
to participate in supporting
and evaluating our CEO (now
in his 12th year). I helped
guide the agency through
multiple challenges involving
Human Resource matters,
interagency relationships and
financial hiccups. We engaged
in merger talks (and decided
to stay independent) and
helped the community rebuild
after the disastrous flooding
of 2014.
Together, through the
COVID pandemic and
its ongoing fallout, we’ve
supported and continue to
support all the hard work that
JFS does and continues to do
to ensure the highest quality of
uninterrupted service possible
to the people we serve. Over
these last three years, we have
also learned a thing or two
about offering incentives and
rewards for Herculean staff
efforts. We should feel really
proud of that, knowing that
the community just assumed
it would be done. Isn’t that
PURELY COMMENTARY
continued on page 7
Perry Ohren