I am pleased to announce that Steve Schwartz has been appointed to the Board of Directors. He is filling a vacancy created by the departure of Brian Silver, who moved out of town last year.

Steve had been a member of the Board, but he took a hiatus to serve on the Oakland County Board of Commissioners. Now that his term has ended, we are glad to get him back.

As those of us who have been on the Board know, it is not always the easiest job to undertake and it involves personal sacrifice. But it is rewarding to know you are contributing to our synagogue.

In a few months, past-president Steve Sperling will begin preparing a slate of nominees for the Board election in May. If you are interested in a position, you can contact him. And even if there are not enough open slots, he can help you to become involved with a synagogue committee or in some other volunteer capacity.

I am also pleased to tell you that our 2010 B’nai Moshe Annual Campaign exceeded its budgeted target. Our sincere thanks go to everyone who participated – particularly those who were able to increase their pledges over previous years. Fundraising efforts such as this enable us to keep dues and tuition levels lower, which help us to attract and retain members.

Hopefully, you have heard about the new Genealogy Group that formed a few months ago. It started because one member (me), was trying to research his family tree and ran into problems. I was just hoping to meet with other B’nai Moshe genealogy buffs who might give me some ideas. What I found was that our member Diane Freilich is heavily involved in the Jewish Genealogy Society and we quickly got a group of about 10 people together. Diane is conducting our sessions and is teaching us a lot - much more than I was expecting. Thanks, Diane.

If you have an interest in a particular subject, hobby or activity, chances are that other members of our synagogue have the same interest. Talk to Executive Director Chuck Berris or call the office. They can help you get started in reaching out and forming a new group.

Finally, many of you have probably heard about the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ). And many of you probably have not. It’s an organization of conservative synagogues headquartered in New York. They provide assistance to individual synagogues, serve as a forum for discussion of subjects of interest to our movement, and often speak on behalf of conservative synagogues. Currently, there is a volunteer board being formed among Great Lakes area conservative synagogues. If you would be interested in representing Bnai Moshe on this group, please let me know.