Greetings JCRC/AJC family!
Beginning today, I have the honor of serving as board president of JCRC/AJC. I’m following in the footsteps of my parents and grandparents who each played an active leadership role in the Detroit Jewish community, through their respective synagogues, temples, and Jewish communal agencies. My family on both sides first came to Detroit in the late teens (over 100 years ago) because they believed, like many others, that Detroit was THE place to be, full of opportunity, fed in large part by the success of Ford Motor Company’s Model T vehicle.
I’m grateful to a cousin who posted on Facebook a cherished black and white photograph of my mother’s family picnicking on Belle Isle in the early 1920s, ironically not long after the last terrible pandemic. Great-grandparents, grandparents, great uncles, great aunts, and cousins can be seen relaxed, in close contact, and hugging each other. After the current pandemic ends, after social distancing is lifted, I’m looking forward to greeting all of you with hearty hugs and handshakes, because JCRC/AJC is truly a family to me.
We did our best version of human connection, and then some, during our first ever “virtual” Annual Meeting conducted on May 13, 2020. The meeting included emotional and well-earned tributes to our late Board Member Sheri Schiff and outgoing president, Alicia Chandler. For those of you who were unable to make it, here is a recording of that memorable evening.
Until hugs and handshakes become a reality, I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing all of you during one of our exciting “virtual” programs described below. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, JCRC/AJC continues full-steam ahead with its mission of representing and strengthening the Detroit Jewish community, and increasing the connection of our community to the rest of Detroit and beyond. JCRC/AJC remains the linchpin of connection with our partners in the diplomatic, legislative, media, interfaith, and intergroup communities.
Building a strong coalition of partners allows us to cultivate support for democracy and pluralism. During these ever-increasing turbulent times, what’s more important than that? Truly!
Thank you for supporting JCRC/AJC! All my best to you and yours. Stay safe and well!
-Seth