Dear The Mums,
Remember when you taught nursery school at the JCC in Rockville, Maryland,
back when it was still called nursery school and not, as it is today, early
childhood education? I was reminded of that long-ago family connection to
“the field,” now that I’m working as a senior writer for
JCC Association of North America, the
membership organization of JCCs, YM and YWHAs, and a network of summer
camps across the continent.
It’s only been two weeks since I started, but the welcome I’ve received has
been overwhelming and began almost from the moment I accepted the position,
which I’d applied for right before Thanksgiving and accepted just before
Christmas. From the signs and balloons that awaited me in my office to a
first-day lunch out with my team, I have been bowled over by the warmth of
absolutely every single person I’ve met thus far. What’s more, within a few
days, all the new-employee paperwork was done, I was enrolled in a pension
plan, my medical insurance card arrived in the mail, and my business cards
were printed. Lest I forget, I have a complimentary membership to the
14th Street Y, and I
can’t wait to go swimming.
I’d met the president and CEO,
Doron Krakow, during my
interview, but he was out of the office traveling until well into my second
week. When he returned, I heard him greeting people by name, asking how
each person was doing, catching up on projects, and demonstrating a warm,
leadership-by-walking-around style. When he stopped into my office (which,
it seems, someone vacuums nightly), I received a most enthusiastic, warm
welcome—including a hug—and we chatted for a few minutes. I told him, as I
have repeated so many times in the last two weeks, “I’m thrilled to be
here!”
As far as the work and my team goes, it’s all good. We meet weekly around a
table, face-to-face, to review the status of all our projects, which are
managed by
Angela,
the marketing administrator.
Joanne, the chief
marketing officer, heads up the team, and the other members include
Loraine, the graphic
designer;
Morgan, the
digital media marketing manager;
Ben, the
photographer/videographer; and
Michael, who is a
marketing consultant to JCCs. (His wife is a Reform cantor, and the Jewish
geography as I am getting to know my new colleagues and they’re getting to
know me has been fun. One woman,
Yuliya, has a Gratz
diploma on her wall, which sparked a great point of connection for us. She
loves
Dr. Davis
the way you did!)
The marketing department functions as a service unit for all the other
parts of the organization, and in addition to reading lots of materials to
get up-to-speed, I’ve contributed to a few projects, including an update
about
JWB Jewish Chaplains Council
activities. (JWB—Jewish Welfare Board—was established to support Jewish servicemen at the time
the U.S. entered World War I and eventually merged with The Council of
Young Men’s Hebrew and Kindred Associations, founded several years earlier,
becoming the national association of JCCs and YM-YWHAs.) I’ve helped with
Doron’s “Shabbat Shalom,” his weekly email message, drafted a joint letter
from him and the board chairman to Federation executives, urging them to
register for JCC Association’s upcoming biennial gathering, and also
drafted an article for a lay leader that spells out the importance of
attending this biennial event, known as
JSummit. It’s scheduled for early May in Milwaukee, and I’m looking forward to
being there.
A few more details to paint as full a picture as possible about my new gig:
The offices, located on the fourth floor of an office building on Eighth
Avenue, halfway between Port Authority and Penn Station, are lovely – with
lots of oversized scenes from JCCs decorating the walls. It’s nice to be
surrounded by joyful images of kids at summer camp, seniors in water
aerobics classes, and preschoolers enjoying juice and challah in
anticipation of Shabbat. (Yesterday, the staff had its once-a-month
oneg, which, not unlike the pre-school celebrations, included a
bit of singing; a micro
d’var Torah; blessings over the candles,
juice, and challah; home-baked treats; and a few minutes of collegial
schmoozing.) There’s a beautiful conference suite; a number of
offices leased to tenant organizations, including two in which the executive directors are former URJ/RAC employees; and a designated staff lounge,
where people gather for lunch—and, again, someone cleans the refrigerator
every single week.
All this by way of assuring you that I’m quite happy with my
professional life these days—the work, my colleagues, and the mission and values of
the organization—and, truth be told, proud of myself for (finally) having
made this much-needed change. I think you would be proud, too.
Miss you…xoxo.
P.S. If
Brian’s name
sounds familiar, you’re right. He and I were classmates at
Laf Coll, and he preceded me as
president of Hillel. When I told
the now-retired Bob Weiner
about my job and that Brian and I would be colleagues, he wrote back, “So
happy and proud. Good Shabbos. Hugs and love, Bob.”
P.P.S. The JCC in Rockville is now the
Bender JCC of Greater Washington,
and from what I can see online, it appears to be an amazing facility.