It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to our new Congregation Community Life Director; Ronit Boyd.Ronit will be a great addition to our full time professional staff. Many of her responsibilities will include coordinating the arms of our Shul, develop programming for every age group within our diverse congregation and assist in new outreach programs and events. She will also spend a lot of time overseeing our youth Shabbat services and various youth groups. She has tons of energy and is off to a fast start. When you see her, please introduce yourself and offer any suggestions and ideas that you would like to see Beth El pursue.

Later this month we will observe the holiday of Rosh Hashannah.This will be anything but an ordinary new year for us at Beth El.It will be the year that we will proudly march the Torahs from Chapel Ave.to our gorgeous new synagogue. Plans are under way for this special event and we want each and every one of you to have a part in this historic event. Additional plans are also being formed to have a formal dedication ceremony. On May 17, 2009 we will be holding the Beth El Ball in our grand new social hall. This will give us an opportunity to celebrate in style our arrival in our new home. Please keep that date open and I will keep you posted on the first two events as dates are formalized. However, it is not just a new building that will make this New Year so special at Beth El.It will be watching all the creative and exciting events that will take place inside these new walls. Seeing all the children learning in a Jewish environment in our preschool, watching our students learning Hebrew and customs in our award winning religious school and watching their parents and grandparents continuing their Jewish education through our amazing adult education program all under one new beautiful roof will be very special. To add Ronit to this will only help to bring our existing and new programming to higher levels. Finally, being able to Daven, learn and socialize all under one roof in a very accessible location is a dream come true!

For all of the parents who just sent their children off to college, please make sure our office has their address at college. With no costs involved, Beth El will bring our Shul and Jewish Life to them while they are away at school. I would like to wish everyone a healthy, happy and peaceful New Year. I hope to see all of you during our last high holidays on Chapel Ave. Shannah Tovah.