6 | JULY 20 • 2023 

1942 - 2023

Covering and Connecting 
Jewish Detroit Every Week

To make a donation to the 
DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 
FOUNDATION
go to the website
www.djnfoundation.org

The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) 

is published every Thursday at 

32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, 

Farmington Hills, Michigan. Periodical 

postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and 

additional mailing offices. 

Postmaster: send changes to: 

Detroit Jewish News, 

32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, 

Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334

MISSION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will be of service to the Jewish community. The Detroit Jewish 
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
248-354-6060
thejewishnews.com

 
 
Publisher
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

 

 Editorial 
 Director of Editorial: 
 Jackie Headapohl
jheadapohl@thejewishnews.com
Contributing Editors: 
David Sachs, Keri Guten Cohen
Staff Reporter: 
Danny Schwartz 
dschwartz@thejewishnews.com
Editorial Assistant: 
Sy Manello
smanello@thejewishnews.com 
Digital Manager:
Elizabeth King 
eking@thejewishnews.com 

Contributing Writers:
Nate Bloom, Rochel Burstyn, 
Suzanne Chessler, Shari S. Cohen, 
Louis Finkelman, Samantha Foon, 
Yevgeniya Gazman, Stacy Gittleman, 
Esther Allweiss Ingber, Barbara Lewis, 
Jennifer Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, 
Alan Muskovitz, Karen Schwartz, 
Robin Schwartz, Steve Stein, 
Nathaniel Warshay, Julie Smith Yolles, 
Ashley Zlatopolsky 

 Advertising Sales 
Director of Advertising: Keith Farber
kfarber@thejewishnews.com
Senior Account Executive: 
Kathy Harvey-Mitton
kmitton@thejewishnews.com 

| Business Office
 Director of Operations: Amy Gill
 agill@thejewishnews.com
 Operations Manager: Andrea Gusho 
 agusho@thejewishnews.com
 Operations Assistant: Ashlee Szabo 
 Circulation: Danielle Smith
 Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner

| Production By 
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 Designers: Kaitlyn Iezzi, Kelly Kosek, 
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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

