The Charlotte Jewish News - December 2001 - Page 3
Of GteEAiER Qiarlotte
Federation News
Of QuifflER Charlotte
Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte Welcomes Randy Czarlinsky
New Executive Director to Assume Duties in January 2002
By Amy Krakovitz
Even before he is situated in his
office and is officially JFGC’s
Executive Director, Randy
Czarlinsky is already in a saving-
money mode. When I ask for his
phone number to conduct an inter
view, he suggests questions and
answers by email. Charlotte, be
glad Randy Czarlinsky is coming
here to bring his level head to
Federation’s operations.
Randy comes' to us directly
from Houston, Texas, where he
most recently served as the
Director of the Community
Relations Committee of the
Jewish Federation of Greater
Houston and the Federation’s
Government Affairs activities. But
the move from America’s fourth
largest city to little oT Charlotte
isn't the major change for him that
you might expect. “Even big
cities, such as Houston, are actual
ly very small cities,” Randy says.
“In Houston’s Jewish community
nearly everyone who was
involved either personally knew
the person you would talk about,
was related to them, or was their
best friend. Texas may be big, but
personal friendships and relation
ships carry the day.”
And his family is looking for
ward to the move as well. “The
move for our family to Charlotte
is seen as a quality-of-life issue
for both of our kids, David and
Lauren. Of course, our Golden
Retriever, Wrigley Field, will
appreciate the four seasons as
opposed to Houston’s nearly year
long summer. Finally, because my
wife grew up in Greensboro, she is
thrilled as she views the move as a
return home. She is also ecstatic
that our kids now have in-state
tuition at her alma mater—UNC-
Chapel Hill. Many of her close
friends from high school/BBYO
and college have settled in
Charlotte.”
The Shalom Park campus con
cept is a new one to Randy, too.
He has worked professionally, in
addition to Houston, in Boston,
Springfield, Massachusetts,
Seattle, New York, Chicago, and
St. Louis; he attended college at
the University of Kansas and the
University of Maryland; he grew
up in Kansas City. No where did
he ever encounter a place like
Shalom Park. “The [Charlotte]
Jewish community was the first to
develop to the campus concept,”
he says. “While the congregations,
schools and agencies are primarily
located in the Park, it is a rare
opportunity to create community.
Shalom Park is not an office park,
but a place where the Jewish com
munity, from the toddler to senior
adult, can participate and engage
in Jewish life.
“The Park is meant to bring the
community together. As the com
munity embarks on the expansion,
there will be the continued need
for the common good for the com
munity .... The expansion affords
the Federation to work with the
community, its agencies and the
families who use the Park, to
ensure that the programs, activi
ties and resources are available to
Of GfeEATER Charlotte
Randy Czarlinsky
maintain and grow the Jewish
experience.”
As for his agenda at Charlotte’s
Federation office, Randy is deter
mined that it will include, in his
words, “... missions. Whether it is
Jewish high school students learn
ing about Tikkun 01am and visit
ing with officials in Washington,
to members of the community vis
iting Israel, Eastern Europe or the
FSU, each provides a live hands-
on Jewish experience that cannot
be replicated by speakers, pictures
or articles. I would hope and urge
the members of our community
and leaders of our agencies to par
ticipate in such opportunities
when they are available. Besides
the fascinating first-hand experi
ence, missions build community
ties and relationships.”
Randy’s Curriculum Vitae is
full of his vast accomplishments
in community service, both inside
and out of the Jewish community.
It includes work with the
American Jewish Committee,
other local federation offices, and
The Associated Press. He has
served on the boards of many
community organizations includ
ing Leadership Houston, the
Inter-Ethnic Forum, Interfaith
Ministries of Greater Houston,
and the MOSAIC newspaper, an
interfaith publication.
He has visited Israel 25 times,
including the West Bank and
Gaza, and has met with officials in
Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. His
visits to Israel frequently include
taking non-Jewish influentials to
the region. In 1994 he led a media
delegation to Israel and Jordan. In
1996 he led a 19-member Jewish
delegation, licensed by the, U.S.
Treasury, for a religious and
humanitarian visit to Havana’s
Jewish community. He led a 13-
member delegation in March 1988
to visit Jewish refuseniks in the
USSR and organized a pilot lead
ership development/advocacy pro
gram for Texas and Moscow
Jewish college students in Russia
in December 1999.
As difficult as it may be to
believe, his personal and profes
sional experiences are even more
vast than listed above. But all this
has led him to this place at this
time, with a philosophy few can
argue with: “It really is quite sim
ple—no one else is going to care
about the Jewish community or its
future. Jews are responsible for
Jews. Whether they reside in
Charlotte, NY, Cuba, Argentina,
the Ukraine or in Israel, we are
responsible for one another.
Throughout history, we have
learned that if we do not advocate
and provide funds for our future,
no one else will either.”
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New Officers Take Helm at United Jewish
Communities
Washington, DC •— James S.
Tisch, President and Chief
Exexutive Officer of Loews Corp.,
was elected as the new Chair of the
Board of United Jewish
Communities (UJC) at the organi
zation’s- General Assembly in
Washington, DC.
Robert Goldberg, President of
Ohio Savings Bank, UJC
Treasurer, and Immediate Past
Board Chair of the Jewish
Community Federation of
Cleveland, was elected Vice Chair
of UJC and Chair of the Executive
Committee of UJC.
Morton B. Plant, Chairman of
the Associated: Jewish Community
Federation of Baltimore and Chair
. of the UJC Budget Committee, was
elected UJC Treasurer.
The new officers assumed their
responsibities immediately and
will serve one-year terms. Tisch
succeeded Charles R. Bronfman,
who served two terms as UJC
Chair. Goldberg succeeded Joel D.
Tauber, and Plant succeeded
Goldberg as UJC Treasurer.
Tisch, former president of UJA-
Federation of New York, has a dis
tinguished business and philan
thropic background. He is past
campaign chair at UJA-Federation
and is a board member of
Federation Employment and
Guidance Services of New York, a
trustee of Mount Sinai Medical
Center in New York, and a member
of the Board of Overseers of the
Wharton School at the University
of Pennsylvania. He is a Phi Beta
Kappa graduate of Cornell
University and received a Master’s
of Business Administration degree
from the Wharton School.
Tisch summed up the goals of
his chairmanship after the Board
vote.
“My agenda is simple: to gain
control of overhead and budget;
creating one that is transparent and
supportable, and to promote our
programs supporting Jews here in
America and around the world.”
Goldberg, who served as Board
Chair at the Jewish Community
Federation of Cleveland from 1997
to 2000, and is a Trustee for Life
there, is founding chair of the
Federation’s Partnership 2000
Steering Committee. He is a
(Continued on page 35)
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