Farewell and Thank You to Chris Noe

FAREWELL & THANK YOU

By Chris Noe

During my time as Board President of Temple Israel, people have come up to me and expressed their gratitude for my leadership of our congregation. My response has always been the same - it is the least I can do for a community that has given so much to me and my family. In this, my last Insight article as President, I want to take the opportunity to expand upon my response. I don’t want to give the impression that I view my service to Temple Israel as a form of quid pro quo – Temple Israel gave something to me so I need to give something to Temple Israel. That’s transactional Judaism, and there’s too much of that in this world, in my opinion. Rather, it is an affirmation on my part of the tremendous impact that synagogues (ours in particular) make in the lives of so many, with me and my family being just one example. There are many important Jewish institutions, but synagogues are unique in that only they “make Jews.” I am proud to have done what little I can to enable Temple Israel to survive and thrive in fulfillment of its sacred mission. And now for some final words of thanks. To my fellow officers, Gary Pforzheimer (VP) and Marc Rysman (Treasurer), thank you for your tireless dedication, insightful counsel, and friendship. To the clergy both past and present, I continue to be amazed by your collective intellect, creativity, and passion. We are a truly fortunate community to have each and every one of you in our midst. To the professional staff, thank you for working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure our continued success. To the members of the Board of Trustees and Leadership Council, thank you for being patient with me as I worked my way up the learning curve. A special apology for all those meetings that ran long. To the Temple Israel Men’s Softball Team, thanks for letting me play even though I am a lousy hitter. To my wife Shari, I absolutely could not have done this without your support. I owe you big time! To our congregation’s countless volunteers and guarantors of our financial security, thank you for caring. It is only through our collective efforts in relationship with one another that we sustain our special community. It has been a privilege to serve as our congregation’s President.

Chris Noe at Consecration 2016

It has been an absolute pleasure working with our President, Chris Noe. Chris has done a tremendous job steering the Temple Israel ship during a time of transition. He has brought his many talents to the job and has used an array of soft and technical skills. He has been able to bring an analytical approach to our leadership table while focusing on transforming Temple Israel to an even more welcoming congregation. His ability to be present on all levels is admirable, he is sincere and genuine and will take on any task that is put before him. We thank Chris for his many years of service on our Board of Trustees, as the Treasurer, Vice President, and President.”

—Dan Deutsch, Executive Director