My Dear Colleagues,
You, the JCC professionals, are the backbone of everything that JCCs do. You are more than 6,000 strong, and you give life to a movement that engages 1.5. million people who walk through the doors of our JCCs and independent camps each week.
It’s quite a responsibility. And one we know you tackle each and every day with passion, with energy, with devotion and probably with a bit of humor, too. You push our JCCs to be their very best, to offer programs and services that make people want to come back to the J again and again. And in times of need, when our communities are hurting, you step up in ways that can never be adequately defined in a job description. That’s what a number of you did in Pittsburgh during the first ever deployment of JResponse. And that’s what many more of us will do the next time—in Malibu, on the Gulf Coast, or wherever JResponders will be needed most. You are, quite simply, the heart and soul of our Jewish town squares.
JCC professionals are proud of what they do, and we in turn, are proud that you choose to do it here, as part of the JCC Movement. We are proud of your ongoing commitment to raising your game and know that’s why you will be in Orlando at the JCCs of North America Professional Conference. During your time there, you’ll learn from some of the leading minds in the field and across the Jewish world. We know you’ll also take time to connect with one another, build your professional network and find out what’s going on at JCCs and overnight camps all over North America.
This conference is one of the best ways we have to invest in you and to enable you to always offer the best of yourselves to your JCC and your community. One and a half million people every week. The broadest and most diverse cross section of Jewish communal life to be found anywhere. And the most significant platform for reaching beyond the Jewish community to the thousands upon thousands of our friends and neighbors who choose the Jewish Community Center, every single day.
The future of Jewish life in North America will play out in our town squares. And we will go from strength to strength. I cannot wait to welcome you at ProCon!
Doron
JCC Association, President and CEO