Dear Fellow Congregants:

First, let me introduce myself—I am David Kaufman, and I have the honor of serving as your Temple president for the next two years. As you know, Brian Mendelson is relocating to South Carolina for a new job and as president-elect, I am stepping up earlier than anticipated. I know you join me in wishing Brian all the best in his new position, and of course, for his many contributions and the leadership he provided to the Board of Trustees and to this Congregation over the past very eventful year.  Brian, may the mezuzah for the doorpost of your new home that we gave you at the Annual Meeting remind you will always have a home at Congregation Ahavath Chesed.

For many of you, I may be a familiar face but we may not have had a chance to get better acquainted—I hope we can change that! My wife, Sherry and I have been Temple members for more than twenty years and are regular worshippers at Friday night services.  Our children, Zachary, Lauren and Hillary, all attended TIR and were called to the Torah as they became B’nai Mitzvah and Confirmands at Temple.  Zachary was recently married by Lani Derby (former TIR Educator) and Lauren was recently married by Rabbi Cohen. Rabbi Bahar married Hillary and her beloved, Zach, on Memorial Day weekend.  I have been on the Board of Trustees for ten years and on the Executive Board for eight years.  Professionally, I am the Senior Director of Planning and Commercial Development for the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT).

We have an exciting year ahead of us!

From the Board’s perspective, you can be assured that there will be a strong focus on improving communication with you, our congregation, our most precious resource.  We will continue to bring you up to date, clear and timely information through our various communication tools.   

You will constantly hear from me that “we are better when we do things together.”  There is more work to do as we continue to build on the Community that we have: more programming, more worship and learning opportunities, more outreach, more maintenance and improvements to our facilities, and so on.  I invite each of you to engage more with your Temple and find new ways to connect. We need your ideas, assistance, hands-on support and financial contributions to make it all happen. 

As we approach this New Year, remember, “we are better when we do things together.”

Thank YOU for your faith in the leadership of this Congregation.