Page 2-THE NEWS-June/Juiy, 1986
THE CHARLOTTE JEWISH NEWS
PubUshed monthly by:
Charlotte Jewish Federation
Foundation of Charlotte Jewish Community
Marvin Bienstock, Director
Jewish Community Center
Martin Schneer, Director
Charlotte Hebrew Academy
Eleanor Welnglass, Director
Editor. Rita Mond
Advertising. Blanche Yarus
Cops/ deadline the 10th of each month
P.O. Box 13369. Charlotte, N.C. 28211
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Editorial
Farewell To A Friend
This summmer we will be saying goodbye to a very
good friend of the Charlotte Jewish community and
the city of Charlotte. Rabbi Richard K. Rocklin has
served his congregation, Temple Israel, with love and
sincere dedication for the past 16 years. His charisma
has not only left its mark on his congregeints, but on
all who have had the privilege to know him profes
sionally and socially.
He has spearheaded many causes in Charlotte such
as: formation of the Chsirlotte Area Clergy Associa
tion, the founding of Holocaust Square, and a con
tinuous fight to see that Jewish children get excus
ed absences from the schools for the observgmce of
religious holidays. Almost annuedly he has led a con
tingent of Charlotteans to Israel, a land where he once
made his home. He has a sincere compassion for all
people.
A rabbi’s life is a busy one. Besides leading ser
vices, preparing sermons, visiting the sick and the
bereaved (even those not of his congregation). Rabbi
Rocklin involved himself with our Jewish youth. He
has a rapport with them that has been unequalled by
others of his profession.
He has been known as the “jogging” rabbi, for it
was not unusual to see him running along Providence
Rd. He has been a fighter even with his own health,
having successfully recovered from a serious bypass
operation several yesirs ago. Rabbi Rocklin has the
stamina and determination to be successful wherever
he may be.
We will miss seeing him and it is truly Charlotte’s
loss that he has decided to leave. We wish him well
and hope he will be happy in his new home and much
success with his future endeavors.
He is leaving (at least for awhile) a precious legacy
to N.C....his three daughters. They will be continu
ing their education here: Avi and Tamar will be at
UNC in Chapel Hill and Shira at East Carolina U.
Shalom!
The Jewish Calendar
Candlelighting
. J« V %•
June 7
June 14
June 21
June 28
July 5 -
July 12 -
July 19 -
July 26 -
Aug. 2
- 8:18 p.m.
- 8:21 p.m.
- 8:23 p.m.
- 8:24 p.m.
8:23 p.m.
8:21 p.m.
8:18 p.m.
8:13 p.m.
8:08 p.m.
Next Issue:
August
Deadline - July 10
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VouR NEXT PcRr Of CAll.
From the Desk oS Marty Schneer
—JCC Executive Director
While the JCC has faced a
number of significant prob
lems in providing adequate
facilities for the membership
since the sale of the old JCC
site, we have been pleasantly
surprised how well our alter
nate plans have worked out.
Our tennis players have found
Cedar Forest Racquet Club to
be a convenient and friendly
place to play. It has been
noted that the percentage of
tennis playing members has
actually increased since we
moved over to Cedar Forest.
Our men’s softball program
continues to attract large
numbers of participants at our
new home field — Boyce Road
Park. Perhaps our most satis
fying arrangement may be our
use of I die wild Olympic Club.
I know many of our members
feel somewhat uncomfortable
about swimming at a new,
‘strange' club after gdl the
years at the old ‘J’. However
I must tell you that as the per
son who has the most dealings
with their leadership and pool
manager, I have been extreme
ly impressed by their cooper
ativeness and desire to make
this a successful summer for
both parties. Obviously there
will be some changes and dif
ferences in pool hours, lesson
schedules, pool rules, etc. but
I think our members will find
Idlewild to be a very nice place
to swim this summer. Per
sonally I plan on spending a
lot of time with my family at
Idlewild and I look forweird to
seeing many of the members
I’ve missed during the year.
The election/installation of
our new Board on May 13 was
a significant event in the
history of the Jewish Com
munity Center. The high
caliber smd commitment level
of the Board will provide the
JCC with a solid foundation on
which to prepare for our ex
pansion. Under the leadership
of president Miles Levine, the
officers of the Center will meet
with individual chairpersons
to map out a coordinated plan
of action in three major areas:
administrative, financial and
program. In the program area
we plan to move to a seasonal
schedule of events to be plan
ned and publicized way in ad
vance. This fall and winter we
plan to offer less classes than
we have in the past. We will
focus on providing quality
events and programs which
will function as part of our pro
motional campaign for our ex
panded schedule next year.
The phase-in process, led by
chairman Mike Scharf, which
started last September, has
begun to provide tangible
benefits. For instance, the
membership committee under
the chairmanship of Barry
Kaye, spent months wrestling
with some very difficult issues
from mandatory building fund
assessments to guest policy to
dues categories. The final
document submitted by this
committee will provide the
basis for membership policies
in the years to come.
The dislocations of the past
year have not made things
easy for the Center, however,
our future is bright and I am
confident that with the help of
the new Board our goals will
be reached.
Construction of our new
JCC continues to move along
at a rapid pace. The “Imagina
tion Tour” rescheduled for
June 2 should have provided
those of you who have not
been out at the site a real pic
ture of what the future holds.
I hope as many of you as
possible were strolling around
our new home on that
afternoon.
Unfortunately, while the
building has progressed, some
of the outdoor facilities have
lagged behind. It is still our
hope that the tennis courts
will be completed this summer
and that the soccer fields will
be ready for youth play in the
fall.
I regret to report the
resignation of two JCC staff
members this past month.
Susan Ett will be leaving the
JCC to pursue other career
and educational interests.
Susan, a warm and sensitive
individual, worked long and
hard for the Center. Speaking
for the rest of the staff, I know
her presence will be missed.
Nancy Segal, our part-time
Athletic Director for the past
year, has retired from the
Center staff with the an
nouncement that a second
child is due in the fall. Nancy,
perhaps as much as any other
staff member, has had to
struggle arranging temporary
and alternative locations for
athletic events and practices.
She has done an excellent job
maintaining our athletic pro
gram under difficult circum
stances.
I wish Susan and Nancy the
very best in the yesu's to come
and I look forward to their
continued involvement at the
Center.
g
Letters to the Editor
The Charlotte Jewish
News encourages its readers to
submit articles and letters ex
pressing their opinionH on mat
ters of interest to the Jewish
community. Such submissions
should be typed and double
spaced. They may be edited in
order to fit the available space.
Mail to CJN - P.O. Box 13369,
Charlotte, N.C. 28211.