Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City hosted its annual meeting last week in the Black & Veatch auditorium.
The theme for the event was “Celebrating today, building tomorrow.” Co-chairs for the event were Lindsay and Michael Fineman and Shannon and Joshua Maker.
At the meeting, Dr. Helene Lotman, Federation's President and CEO, was honored for her work at Federation over the past six and a half years. Lotman is leaving Federation at the end of the year to start her new role as president and CEO of Jewish Family & Children’s Services of the Suncoast in Florida.
"Your business acumen and ability to mentor both professional and lay leaders created a strong network of involved and engaged participants," Amanda Morgan, the Federation’s outgoing board chair, said of Lotman in her speech. "As your proud partner for the last two years, I am sad to see you leave, but I know you created an incredibly strong team that will carry us forward."
Lotman returned the sentiment, saying that Morgan "stands out as one of the best leaders I have had the privilege to work beside in my career… There wasn’t a decision she made that wasn’t well thought out and intentionally executed against.”
Lotman also said she was proud of all the accomplishments and achievements Federation and the community have realized over the past number of years, including moving from a cooperative community to a collaborative one, completing the first comprehensive demographic study of the Jewish community since 1985, and garnering participation and support in the community security fundraising campaign by our agencies, funders, synagogues and donors, raising close to $7 million towards the campaign's $9 million goal.
“I could go on and on about the accomplishments and the changes we have realized, however for me, in the end, it is about the people,” she said. “Without [the community’s] partnership, none of this would have been possible. I, personally and on behalf of the Federation, am grateful for the confidence so many community members have expressed and for the hard work and numerous hours that the lay leadership exhibited when needed.”
Jewish Federation also honored multiple award winners at the meeting, including:
- Erin Berger, Dan Fingersh Young Leadership Award
- Rabbi Berel Sosover, Jewish Educator of the Year
- KU Hillel Mental Health and Wellness Initiative, Program of the Year
- Torah Learning Center Kosher Meals on Wheel, Program of the Year
Also recognized during the meeting were Steve and Sandy Passer and Lon Lowenstein, for their leadership of Sasone and the Rabbi Gershon Hadas Guardian Society, respectively. The Passers started Sasone, the Jewish community’s program to support children with special needs, in 1996. Lowenstein has served as chair of the Guardian Society for the past 25 years.
The evening also included the nomination of new Federation board members and officers, as follows: New board members Michael Fineman, Barry Kaseff, Hadas Moshonov-Cohavi, Maddie Reiches and Lisa Ruben; officers Jeremy Antes, Barb Bloch, Michael Fineman, Amanda Morgan, Hadas Moshonov-Cohavi and Amanda Palan. Beth Liss will be the incoming board chair.
Incoming Federation Chair Beth Liss shared the following remarks after the annual meeting:
First I want to thank Helene for her years of service to Kansas City. We are a stronger community because of her leadership. I have certainly enjoyed our world and domestic travels together. Kansas City will miss her, and we know that Jewish Family &Children's Services of the Suncoast is lucky to have her.
Amanda, thank you for your dedication and leadership to the Jewish Federation. While most of your term was led online, you helped keep our community remaining vibrant and engaged during a challenging time for all of us. You leave big shoes to fill.
I am honored and excited to be the next Board Chair of Jewish Federation. I want to thank my family, Michael, Zachary and Drew, in advance for their love and support while I take on this role. I thank my parents, Harvey and Michele Kaplan, for setting such a great example for me and my family of the importance of giving back and of taking on active and integral roles in our community. I am truly passionate and dedicated to the work of the Federation. From helping those in need at home and around the world, to making sure that Kansas City remains a vibrant, relevant and strong Jewish Community, we truly make a difference in the lives of many.
As Jews we are reminded of two important mitzvot, tzedakah and gemilut hasadim. Tzedakah is carried out by giving of one’s money, whereas gemilut hasadim, is giving of one’s person. We certainly cannot do the work we do without the generous tzedakah from all of you and for that we are grateful. What I want to focus on is the mitzvot of gemilut hasidim which is translated to acts of loving kindness, a fundamental social value that permeates the everyday lives of Jewish people. It is a mitzvah that an individual completes without the anticipation of receiving something in return. It is kindness in action - being friendly, generous and considerate. This can mean many different things to different people. The possibilities are endless and up to you, through showing empathy, acceptance, thoughtfulness, or offering kind gestures.
Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, of Central Synagogue in New York City, spoke about gemilut hasadim and kindness during her Kol Nidre sermon. What she said resonated with me and spoke to how I want to show up as a leader in our community. She said, “Kindness requires us to give something up: our comfort, our convenience, our insularity, our certainty.” According to Rabbi Buchdahl, olam chesed yibaneh, the world is built on kindness”. Federation is here to strengthen our community - but we need everyone to commit themselves to that effort, and to do so with kindness in our hearts. According to Oprah Winfrey, “to extend yourself in kindness to anybody is an extension of kindness in the world.”
We have an exciting road ahead of us as we continue to emerge together from the pandemic, as we begin to look for our next CEO/President, and we further explore our community study. The study tells us there is so much to be proud of and so much work to be done - providing for the most vulnerable, becoming a more welcoming community where everyone feels they belong, and ensuring there are opportunities for everyone to find their place. We live in very challenging times - that is nothing new. Federation is up for the challenge. Helene and Amanda and those who came before have positioned us for success. I am looking forward to working with you to raise the funds, to strengthen our relationships, and to plan our community’s future - not just for the next two years but for generations to come. Together we will move our community forward.
My hope is that we do so with the utmost kindness. Being kind, doing intentional, voluntary acts of kindness matters not only when it’s easy but when things are challenging. Kindness is grace, we are all humans and we make mistakes - we have a bad day or we unintentionally say the wrong thing. We need to be kind in our response to ourselves and others. We must offer grace and be kind.
I am looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead as we all work together to continue to make our Kansas City Jewish Community the strongest it can be.