| A Note from NATA President, Ed Alpert, FTA |
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If people do not plow in the summer, what will they eat in the winter - Midrash Mishie 6
What we learn from this midrash is the critical importance of planning for the future. I am so pleased to report that this is exactly what has been at the top of your leadership's agenda for the past couple of years.
Read the Entire Article Here |
| Renew Your Dues for 2010/2011 Now! |
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You may now begin to renew your NATA dues if you wish to pay them out of your 2009/2010 Budget.
NATA dues will not increase, and remain the same as in previous years.
Simply log into:
NATA Members Only section and select "Renew." Please mail your check payments within 10 working days of renewing. | |
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 Chag Pesach Sameiach! Very Special Passover Wishes to
You and Your Family! |
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Health Care Reform - How Will It Affect You in Your Role As Executive Director
 With the passing of the Health Care Reform Act last week, we find ourselves asking how these provisions will affect congregational benefit packages as well as the lives of our congregants. While it will be months before the bill is fully understood and careful analyses are complete, we immediately turned to the Religious Action Center (RAC) for more information. Rebecca Katz, Eisendrath Legislative Assistant, was gracious and gave us the following assessment. Watch this space for future gleanings! You can also find additional information in the Guide to Health Care Reform Debate from a Jewish Perspective.
The Impact of Health Insurance Reform on Congregations and Clergy: A Preliminary Assessment
There are a few explicit provisions in the bill vis-à-vis faith groups. Members of faith bodies who oppose the use of insurance are exempt such as the Amish and some Mennonites. Members of religious sharing ministries are exempt (groups of people of faith who share one another's medical expenses through voluntary contributions). Clergy will be treated just as any other individual and mandated to have insurance; there are not special provisions for clergy except the low-income provisions that would apply to the population at large.
Congregations will be treated as businesses for the purposes of determining their responsibility in the mandate. Those who qualify for tax credits will receive those credits through the reduction in their payroll taxes. Insurance plans would be subject to the excise tax on the "Cadillac" plans that will go into effect in 2018. Faith-based self-insurance plans have historically been exempt from Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) compliance, but research remains to be done to determine the status of this exemption in health reform.
Employers with more than 50 employees will be required to offer health insurance to their workers. Those employers with more than 200 employees will be required to automatically enroll all employees in health insurance plans, allowing individual workers to opt-out of the plans rather than choose to opt-in. Employers will be required to provide information to employees about health insurance options, including coverage through the state-based exchanges, and employers who do not offer health benefits will pay a penalty fee.
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Budgeting During the Year - Part 2 
So, your budget is done and you think you can relax as it pertains to the finances. In reality, the budget, though onerous, may have been the easy part. During the year, you should follow a few tips to keep the budget fluid - but just as important - help you for next year's budget.
Read the Entire Article Here |
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Reflections from the URJ Large Congregations Meeting
The URJ held a meeting for Large Congregations on February 21-22 in Atlanta Georgia. There were 60 attendees, including rabbis, presidents and executive directors from 24 different synagogues and representatives from the URJ. The goals of the meeting were to identify significant issues facing the Reform Movement, large congregations and provide an open discussion of those issues.
Part of what we tried to accomplish at our meeting was to reflect together on where the state of the Movement was today and to imagine the future - particularly as it relates to large congregations. Beginning with the opening panel discussion, each of the conversations built on the previous. Larry Dressler did a great job facilitating our discussions and creating an atmosphere of engagement.
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More Wisdom From Dale Glasser, M.S., M.A., M.S.W.
Lead Specialist, Congregational Consulting Group, URJ
 NATA members can click here to find my bio and the bios of all our specialists. NATA members can contact any Union staff member (including their congregational representative or any specialist) with any question or request and they will research it or pass it along if they do not have the answer. Of course as the Union's representative to NATA (officially and because it is my privilege and pleasure), I am always happy to be the direct contact person for any NATA member.
Thank you, Dale!
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Free - Is that Your Favorite Four-Letter Word? And, What About When Paired with Help? Yes - Free Help!
These terrific booklets, from our friend of NATA, Dale Glasser are listed and can be downloaded or ordered for FREE! Check out the URJ website.
Think about how useful they can be for you and your lay leaders. Thank you, Dale. |
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 2010 NATA Conference in Portland, Oregon!
Save the dates of October 23-27, 2010 for our annual conference in beautiful Portland, Oregon. This year's theme will be "Transformational Leadership" and will be applied to our relationships with our staffs, our Boards, our congregations and ourselves.
The registration fee for the conference has been confirmed at $550 ($45 less than originally thought). We are also encouraging members to pre-pay your conference fee now, if you have funds available in your 2009/2010 budgets. Checks may be sent to the NATA Office. Please make note that the check is for the 2010 Conference.
Visit The Nines Hotel online to see this beautiful property. The special conference hotel room rate is $179.
Whet your appetite for Portland and visit www.travelportland.com/
Watch this space for updates! |
Welcome New NATA Members!
We are pleased to introduce the following new members to NATA:
Melissa Bloom - Temple B'nai Torah, Bellevue, WA
Steven Borstein - Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, Beachwood, OH
Carol Sleeper - Temple Beth Am, Jupiter, FL
Tracie Spivey - Temple B'nai Israel, Little Rock, AR |
2010 Nominations Slate
During the mid-year board meeting, the Nominations Committee presented the following slate of new officers and board members:
President:
Livia D. Thompson, FTA
Vice Presidents:
Robin S. Rubin
Marc J. Swatez, FTA
Administrative Secretary:
Robert French
Immediate Past President:
Edward M. Alpert, FTA
Honorary Board Member:
Loree B. Resnik, FTA
Board Members:
Esther R. Herst, FTA
Gennifer Kelly
Jeff Manis
Diane Wiener
Elections will take place in October 2010 at the NATA Conference in Portland, Oregon.
Continuing on the NATA Board are:
Vice President:
Ruth W. Cohen
Treasurer:
Joseph T. Elbaum
Assistant Treasurer:
Richard J. Rosenberg, Jr.
Board Members:
Jeanne Kort-Adler
Sydney Baer
Marc Cohen
Debbie Coutant
Ellen Franklin
Larry Glickman
Betti Greenstein
Bekki Harris Kaplan
Jane Sable-Friedman
Abigail Spiegel
Parliamentarian:
Nancy Schneider
The following board members will complete their terms in October 2010:
Janice S. Rosenblatt, FTA as Vice President
Jeffrey S. Herzog, FTA as Administrative Secretary
Carolyn Shane as Board Member
Many thanks to the Nominations Committee: Loree Resnik, FTA, Serane Blatt, FTA, Cindi Crutchfield, Karen Grimm; Mark Jacobson, Missy Lowdermilk, Alice Miller, Saralouise Reis, FTA, Mark Rubenstein, and Carolyn Shane. |
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Member News and Tributes
MAZAL TOV TO:
Bill Ferstenfeld, FTA on the engadgement of his son.
DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO:
Jo Ann Windman on the passing of her father, Irwin Meyer.
With APPRECIATION to the following members who made contributions to the NATA Tribute Fund: Cindi Crutchfield, Joe Elbaum, Norman Fogel, FTA, Terry Kraus, FTA; Robin Rubin, Nancy Schneider, Carolyn Shane, and Rachel Turry-Roth. | |
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NATA - P.O. Box 936, Ridgefield, WA 98642
Email: nataoffice@natanet.org
Website: www.natanet.org
Ph: 1-800-966-NATA / (360) 887-0464 (outside the US) | |
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