Welcome to the New Year 2025! I am very excited to have been elected as President of our beautiful synagogue and look forward to many opportunities to come together as Jews in this coming year.

A little of my history. My family joined Temple Emanu-El in 1961 when we moved here to Reno from the Bay Area of California. My brother had his bar mitzvah in that downtown synagogue. I had my bat mitzvah here is this building under the tutelage of Rabbi Fasman in 2018, on the occasion of my 70th birthday. What an amazing experience. There is a big gap in my membership here, which is a megillah for another time, but my travels and work in Israel after college helped form some of my sense of belonging.

My education and work experience in organizational development, strategic planning, and business consulting includes board experience on The Greater Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce, Nevada Urban Indians, Public Service Nevada, Valerie Wiener Foundation, The Community Cabinet, and others. I have been a consultant with the Reno International Airport Authority, HOPES, and other boards on strategic planning, team building, and public involvement.

My theme: As we congregate to pray, learn, and socialize, Temple Emanu-El is a sanctuary where all Jews feel safe physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

These words will guide us not only in what we do, but how we do it. It will also guide us on how we interact with one another. We come from different backgrounds and have different visions of how Judaism should be “conducted” in our synagogue. We need to be respectful of our differences, open-minded, and enjoy the diversity of thought, experience, and opinions.

As volunteers, we on the Board of Directors and committees of TEE are committed to seeing our temple grow and prosper and be an amazing place for all of us. Many thanks to Alan Liebman and his team for “setting the table” for the rest of us as we continue on.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

I can be reached at Idsilver@sbcglobal.net and (775)250-2898.