Membership & Outreach Committee

Chair: Jonathan Cohen, email
Members: Nina Beck, Judy Danzig, Dana Engel, Meg Handler, Deb Lowe, Dawn Moskowitz, Sharon Panitch, Lani Ravin, Diane Rippa (Board liaison), Barrie Siver, Alisa Silverman and Michael Smolin.
Liaison/Staff associated with committee: Rabbi Joshua Chasan, Mike Kanarick and Naomi Barell (Education Committee)

Goals/Philosophy of Committee--The Membership & Outreach Committee is responsible for suggesting, planning and implementing activities geared to increasing and retaining synagogue membership. It welcomes potential and new members into the OZ community and involves them in community life.  We work towards these goals via a wide range of synagogue events and strategic outreach planning.

Accomplishments of Committee--The committee continues to sponsor the following programs:  Shabbat Ushers; Volunteer Help Network;  Lunch and Learn;   bubbies and Babies;  Community Shabbat Dinners;  Rosh Hashanah by the Lake;  Three Stars by the Lake.  We also doubled the size of the M&O committee and have made progress in restructuring committee process and function.

Future Plans of Committee--Goals for the coming year include reviving or implementing the following specific programs and projects:  OZ Membership Directory;  Bayit L’Bayit;  Shabbat Yoga; Tot Shabbat;  Community Development programs (through workshops and speakers);  revision of the protocol for welcoming new members;  tracking membership trends and cataloging potential members.  As we continue to restructure the process and function of the committee we hope to “automate” the planning and implementation of events and be able to focus more intently on strategic planning and recruitment.