President’s Letter, December 2024

By President Jared Nabel and President Elect Ian Kaner

This post first appeared in the December 2024 Issue of the Temple Israel “Doorpost”:

Just over a month ago, I stood up on the bimah and spoke to you about the inevitability of change. From changes in the local landscape, to our immediate neighborhood, to our TIP community, and within our historic building. Change is everywhere we look, from our new dues model to expansion plans for our Early Learning Center, and renovations to our educational spaces. Temple Israel’s path forward will be one dominated by change, and our success depends on how we plan, react, and address the needs of an ever-changing environment, a growing congregation, and a continually evolving Jewish topography. From the macro to the micro, change permeates all aspects of an organization, and often when it is least expected. In the first year of my two-year terms as Board President, I agreed to serve for a second term, bringing the length of my Presidency to four years. That was the plan, and I expected to see if through. Now, a few months shy of the end of my first term, I am writing to inform you – this plan has changed.

A couple months ago, my wife Sarah was presented with an opportunity by her employer that was hard to turn down. For many weeks it remained uncertain, but now I know exactly how my life is changing; we are headed west, to the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. This was definitely not an expected change, or one that I had years to plan for. However, this does not mean that it will be a difficult change for Temple Israel.

Throughout my time on the Board of Directors, first as President-Elect, and then as President, I have been cognizant of two over-arching characteristics that have made forward progress possible – collaboration and cooperation. One frequent collaboration resulted in me extending an invitation to our Vice President of Education, Ian Kaner, to attend the USCJ convention in Baltimore with me last December. This connection led to continued collaborations, as well frequent conversations about shared goals, ideas, and continuity for Temple Israel Portsmouth.

While it is difficult for me to say goodbye to a ten plus year relationship I have had with the Seacoast, Portsmouth, and Temple Israel, it gives me a much-needed sense of relief to inform you that effective December 15th, my very good friend and frequent collaborator, Ian Kaner, will be taking the reins, and guiding Temple Israel as the next President of the Board of Directors. So, without further ado, it is time for a mid-column hand-off:

Ian Kaner was born on the frozen tundra of Duluth, Minnesota. The son of a school teacher and a local businessman, he was very engaged with his synagogue community. As one of only two Jews his age, he learned to be uniquely Jewish in a place where everybody around him was not. He engaged with Jewish Youth groups, meeting Jewish kids from all over the Midwest. He spent 10 summers at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute, a Reform camp in southern Wisconsin working his way to the position of Unit Head.

In Graduate school, Ian attended the esteemed Sol Drachler Program for Jewish Communal Leadership earning a certificate in the same along with his Masters in Social work with an emphasis on management and child & adolescent development. He worked in the Detroit Jewish Community as a fundraiser for an assisted care facility and for the Federation of Detroit. He also worked for Camp Harlam, a reform camp in the Philadelphia area before deciding to leave the Jewish community to become a participant, rather than an employee. He has owned his company, Budget Blinds for nearly a decade and has grown it from just himself to now 13 employees.

Ian is excited to play a role in the leadership of our organization, in his words, “as we seek to grow, find ways to be relevant to our members and the Jewish Community at large and to enable a secure future for the next generations and our building.”

Thank you so much for the memories, the friendships and the opportunity to serve this community.