Honoring our Leaders


Our book of Proverbs teaches that “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” During May, we will honor our President, Fred Dumas, for having a clear vision that has enabled our congregation not only to survive but to thrive.

Though Temple Beth El is 63 years old, it was only this past year that we celebrated our Bar Mitzvah year in our building in Shalom Park. As President of Temple Beth El from 2004 to 2006, Fred Dumas has been the parent of our Temple, trying to guide it on the right path.

 Just as the parent’s job in leading a child to Bar Mitzvah is to give the child the most solid foundation that he needs to move forward into adulthood, Fred has done just that for Temple Beth El.

As a result of Fred’s leadership, Temple Beth El is on more solid financial ground. As a result of his leadership,
our professional and administrative staff is stronger, and our building is more beautiful. As a result of his leadership, Temple Beth El continues to grow in membership, in programming, in teaching, and in reaching out in a warmer and more welcoming fashion. In this Bar Mitzvah year of Temple Beth El, Fred has helped us to articulate a clear vision for our future -- laying the groundwork for a campaign that will enable us to be strong not only today, but tomorrow
and in the decades to come.

Leadership is hard. In fact, the Talmud notes that leadership shortens life. Yet Fred has risen always to the challenge. We thank him, and we thank Marcy, Daniel and Katy for supporting him and for making many sacrifices of family time so that he could sustain our congregation.

The best way to honor Fred is to follow his lead, and give of your time, your energy, and your passion to build up our congregation. The next best way to honor him is to join us on Friday, May 5th at the 8:00 pm Shabbat service as we celebrate his visionary leadership.