Farewell

When I was interviewing for this job, back in October of 2013, the hiring committee explained that the main objective was to keep New Bedford going as an independent Federation for five more years. The other challenge was to transition from full-time employees to part time. Nearly 13 years later I can say that we certainly achieved that. I started this Bulletin in my second week. In the end, we sent nearly 700. (Yes, we had more special Bulletins than weeks we skipped). It was the main communication tool throughout my time here and sending it every Thursday at 3:00 PM has been a staple.

We had kept the New Bedford Federation going for seven years when the world shut down for the pandemic. I thought our Federation's time might have finally come due to the economic downturn, but as our community navigated through it, I became even more convinced that ending our Federation outright could not be an option. We tried to join forces with the Rhode Island Alliance a few years back, but were unsuccessful. This past year, in a time of many challenges to Jewish communities everywhere, we finally found the perfect partnership for our community with Boston's CJP, a robust and successful Federation. For me, this is as positive an outcome as I could have wished for.

For 13 years, we have made a big difference in the lives of people both locally and in Israel. Your generosity made that happen. This year we have made larger financial contributions than in any of the past 13 years. That is my kind of "going out with a bang."

Our financial success was enhanced by investing our endowment with the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. Pooling our funds with them was one of our better moves. For a small community, we punched above our weight in other areas too. When we invited Nancy Spielberg to join us at The New Bedford Whaling Museum, we also set her up with stops in three other New England communities simply because we could. Selling out The Zeiterion (with many people outside the Jewish community joining us) with The Soap Myth will always be a great memory. Many of you probably still have the picture you took with Ed Asner on your phones — I know I do. He passed away four years ago, but I keep his number and the few texts we exchanged in my phone. We sang with David Broza live, held one of the most touching memorials for October 7th, and every year wondered why it is unusually cold on Yom HaShoah when we stand outside at the monument.

In the coming months, I will continue to work in an advisory position with CJP, and with the committee we formed last year for this effort. 

When I first started in this job our president was Judy Barry, who passed away this week. Judy was a joy to work with, and her memory is indeed a blessing. 

I’d like to give further blessings and thanks to all who served on our board, made a donation to the campaign (or specific drives), or participated in our programs. I'd also like to express my appreciation for our partners at TI, BCC, UMass Dartmouth and the PJ Library; the many overseas in Afula and Hurfesh; and to Debbie Stein at JFNA. Thanks too to Cindy Yoken, who led our Holocaust memorial committee; to Ruth Glicksman, our social services committee of one; to Stu Forman, who led the search committee back in 2013; to Marty Lipman, a past president and great partner (sorry we never visited the Tenement Museum together); and to Ilana Offenberger and Liz Ackerman, who joined the committee and worked on the CJP project, and are staying on to serve our community going forward. 

Marsha Onufrak, Manya Bark, and Ellen Hull: you exemplify service and leadership.

And finally to Michelle Poirier and Carol Farias; we did OK, didn't we.

Thank you all. It has been a privilege.

Amir