This year marks the 175th anniversary of JFS Richmond and we wanted this year’s annual meeting to be a way to honor our history and thank those who have been a part of the journey over the years.
The annual meeting was held at Congregation Beth Ahabah, where JFS first started as the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Association in 1849. Congregation Beth Ahabah (House of Love) was founded in 1841 as an offshoot of K. K. Beth Shalome. The present sanctuary building on West Franklin Street was dedicated in December 1904.
The evening started with light refreshments in the atrium that was filled with cheerful attendees catching up. Guests then made their way into the sanctuary where the meeting took place. The meeting opened up with a warm welcome from JFS Board President Mike Mandel and an Invocation by Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman.
Mike expressed gratitude to the guests and told JFS’ origin story of the pioneer women who built the foundation we stand upon today.
JFS’ CEO Wendy Kreuter shared remarks about the reprinted 175th Anniversary Edition of “Like A Giant Oak,” a book beautifully written by Dr. Peter Opper on the history of LHBA and JFS from 1849-1999. A video message on the Gift of History with Elizabeth Thalhimer provided a perfect segway into significant moments throughout 175 years presented by JFS’ past Board Presidents.
Sandy Sisisky reminded the group that a JFS director from 1904-1938, Zipporah Cohen, led the organization through the Spanish Flu in 1918 just as Sandy led during COVID in 2020. Ron Felmus told of how the Thalhimer farm was a refuge for German immigrants seeking independence after the war; 80 years later, JFS is still meeting resettlement needs working with families from Ukraine.
Chairman Richard Birnbaum gave a heartwarming acknowledgement of Mike Eisenman who is retiring from over 16 years on the JFS Supporting Foundation Board. Counseling staff member, Sonni Gittleman and her accompanist, Rich Goldberg, delightfully performed “You’ve Got A Friend by Carole King.”
The meeting concluded with JFS announcing its partnership with Beth Sholom on CAPABLE, a new program helping seniors stay in their homes longer.
We want to thank Congregation Beth Ahabah for allowing us access to their lovely space for our annual meeting and to all those who were in attendance.
We also want to remind everyone that the celebration continues on Sept. 21st at 8 p.m. We will be celebrating 175 years of Transforming Lives and Strengthening our Community with JFS at 175 Live with Andy Cohen at the Dominion Energy Center. Details and tickets are available at www.jfsrichmond.org/175th. We hope to see you there!
We want to issue a spelling correction in last month’s article; the correct spelling for our event emcee and President and CEO of VPM is Jayme Swain.
JFS is supported, in part, by a generous annual campaign contribution and programming and other grants from the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond.
