With the end of her term coming up, the president of Sid Jacobson JCC’s board of directors has written a final farewell to the JCC community.
Jodi Rosenthal announced in an email sent Thursday that her presidency would end on Tuesday and that she would be succeeded by the center’s executive vice president, David Levy.
“As we look to re-open our doors shortly and begin to embrace our ‘new normal,'” Rosenthal wrote. “I cannot help but reflect upon the last 3 years since I was elected President of the Board. When I first took this office, I was filled with vision and excitement for what the next several years of the JCC could look like, where we could grow, new populations we could touch and the overall impact we could have on our community as a whole.”
The outgoing president also said that her “vision” for her term had been complete, even with the pandemic.
“These last few months, as we were met with the largest pandemic we have seen in our lifetime, have been difficult and challenging to say the least,” Rosenthal wrote. “Yet, this crisis should not define the advancements that we did make in these last 3 years.”
Among the events and areas Rosenthal takes pride in are the opening of the center’s 200 Annex, the Community Needs Food Bank, the addition of new classrooms and offices, the growth of membership past 3,000 units, the Early Childhood Center, the Randie Waldbaum Malinsky Center for Israel, the expansion of the Nancy Marx Cancer Wellness Center, raising over $700,000 at the annual Friendship Circle Luncheon, and “my personal celebrated area,” cultural arts.
“From the safety of my home, behind a camera and physically distant from the board I admire and the JCC facility that within its walls does so much for so many, this is certainly not how I envisioned my final days as board president,” Rosenthal wrote. “Yet I am comforted knowing that in these last three months we have become a new JCC serving our community to the best of our ability beyond our walls.”
Levy is a member of the JCC’s board of directors as well as its executive board of directors, and has been executive vice president for the last three years.
“[Levy’s] heart and passion for this agency is clearly evident,” Rosenthal wrote. “It is his time now to lead us and bring his insight on how best to continue to be a thriving institution serving the needs of all in our community.”
Rosenthal grew up in Roslyn before attending the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and joined the community center’s board of directors more than 20 years ago. Her husband, Robert, is a former president of the board, and she says she will remain on the board to assist Levy.
“It has truly been a privilege and honor, as well as personally rewarding, to have been president of this amazing institution,” Rosenthal wrote. “I thank you all for your support and the trust you put in me. I have full confidence that SJJCC will continue to thrive and fulfill its mission to provide programs and services both to those in need and to those who want. Looking forward to seeing everyone within our walls soon.”
