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In This Issue:
- Chairperson’s Message
- JNET's May 7th Festivities
- Celebrate Israel Festival
- JNET Movie Night at Sinai Temple
- Kosher Rules/Holiday Observances
- Get More Out of JNET
- JNET Cares
- JNET in the News
- Involvement Opportunities
- Speaking Opportunities
Remember, as a JNET member, you can attend any meeting of any chapter, and both the summer and Chanukah yearly mixers. View the Chapter Meeting Calendar, and don't forget to sign up for your opportunity to speak/present to the group.
Leave the Groaning for Pesach
By Jackie Mendelson,
JNET Chairperson
It is hard to believe that we have barely finished our Hamantaschen, and it's already time for charoset.
Passover is both the most celebrated Jewish holiday of the year and the holiday voted most likely to elicit a groan. People groan when they consider Passover's dietary requirements. They groan when they think of all the preparations. They even groan when they remember how much they over ate during Passover last year.
But the real irony behind the moaning, groaning and kvetching is that in some ways this is exactly what you’re supposed to feel at this time of year. Passover is a celebration of spring, of birth and rebirth, of a journey from slavery to freedom, and of taking responsibility for yourself, the community and the world. However, strangely enough, the act of taking responsibility cannot get done without some groaning. It was with groaning that the Hebrews expressed the pain of their ancient enslavement in Egypt more than 3,300 years ago. It was with groaning that they called attention to their plight.
Enough Groaning Already!
Groaning has remained a part of the Jewish culture. But there are times when it doesn’t serve us as well as it has in the past, and that includes speaking opportunities. The next time you pass on the speaker's sign-up sheet at a meeting because you don’t have time, remember that networking is all about telling people who you are, how you can help other JNET businesses, and how they can support you. Instead of avoiding a 10-minute talk at one of JNET’s chapters, embrace it. Use it to highlight something you don’t have time to mention in your 30-second schpiel.
So, please get on a speakers list at one of our Chapters. If the Chapter you wish to speak at does not have an opening, go to another Chapter and make new contacts. You can give two ten-minute talks in a 12-month period (once every 181 days); each time at a different chapter. For a limited time, you also have a third opportunity to speak at the Thousand Oaks, Tarzana AM and South Bay Chapters. The JNET Board of Directors is on a mission to increase speaker participation by the end of the year. Find out who is on the various JNET Chapter Leadership Teams, and email them, asking to be put on their speakers’ list. Sign up and be counted!
Get ready for a fun-filled day of activities and entertainment with JNET!
Begin with the Celebrate Israel Festival, L.A.’s largest Jewish event, and cap off the day with a very special JNET Movie Night at nearby Sinai Temple.
Celebrate Israel & Support JNET
Join JNET at the Celebrate Israel Festival! Presented by the Israeli American Council, enjoy multi-cultural entertainment, showcasing Jewish culture with local and international singers, dancers, and dignitaries on several action-packed stages. Great for families and friends, with so many festivities crammed into one place, partake in a Mega Challah Bake, Kotel Wall to place your note, the best of L.A.'s kosher food, and so much more! Be sure to stop by the JNET booth!
JNET is seeking volunteers: Members who volunteer to staff the JNET booth can set out their business cards on the table. For details or to sign up, please contact Jennifer Maraia at 310-467-1666, Jennifer@MomtheRealtor.com.
Buy discounted tickets online at JNET's website, and 15% of ticket sales go back to JNET. Tell your family & friends to also buy tickets at jnetonline.org!
$10 per person by April 21
$15 afterward online
($20 at the event)
EVENT DETAILS
LOCATION:
Cheviot Hills Recreation Center
in Rancho Park
2551 Motor Avenue, Los Angeles
TIME: 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
JNET Movie Night at Sinai Temple on May 7
Don't miss this incredible event co-hosted by JNET and Sinai Temple. After dancing on your feet at the Celebrate Israel Festival, cap off the day of festivities at nearby Sinai Temple, where you can sit back, schmooze, enjoy a catered buffet, and be inspired by a special screening of On the Map, a Dani Menkin film.
This powerful film recounts the 1977 European (Basketball) Championship won by underdog Maccabi Tel Aviv. Combining the pulse-pounding action of a high-stakes thriller with an incendiary political background, On the Map tells the against-all-odds story of Maccabi Tel Aviv's heroism battling the traditional European powers. Moments after this highly charged and historic win, Israeli-American basketball hero, Tal Brody, became an indelible part of a young country's history when he said, "Israel is On the Map, not just in sport, but in everything." Witness the spirit of Israel through the nonstop drama and excitement, and commentary and interviews with basketball icon Bill Walton and former NBA Commissioner David Stern.
Meet On the Map Director Dani Menkin prior to the film, which has a running time of one hour and 25 minutes. A 30-minute Q & A period will follow the screening.
Buy tickets in advance! Cost for the film and dinner is $25 for adults, and $20 for guests under 18 years of age. Purchase tickets in advance for our catering count. Tickets at the door will be $30. Checks payable to JNET or cash, which is preferred, will be accepted at the event.
JNET Board’s Position on Kosher Rules and Holidays
JNET Chapters meet at 12 synagogues throughout the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles proper. Each temple has its own set of guidelines for the degree of Kashrut they would like to be maintained at their site. There are also basic Kosher Rules on the JNET website.
However, we ask that before you speak at any JNET Chapter you contact their Speaker Coordinator or anyone else on their Leadership Team and find out which foods can be brought onto the premises.
The Board has taken a similar view on Jewish holy days. As a Jewish networking organization, we will not hold meetings on holy days. Meetings will be based on whether or not the synagogue in question is open during the four intermediate days of Pesach, for example. Major holy days include Erev Rosh Hashana, Rosh Hashana, Erev Yom Kippur, Yom Kippur, Erev Sukkot, Sukkot, Erev Simchat Torah, Simchat Torah, Erev Pesach and Pesach.
Get More Out of JNET!
Online Membership Profile
As a service to our members, everyone has a personal profile page in the Membership Directory. The individual profiles are yet another way to promote your business. Include an up-to-date photo, so that people can put a name and face together. It’s also a great tool to use before a JNET Connect to make sure you remember who everyone is in your group.
At JNET we make it a priority to offer members a pool of resources and tools to help them network more effectively. Take a few minutes to complete your profile. Remember, our Membership Directory can be accessed by non-members as well. On a daily basis, many of us are asked, “Who do you know that does this or who in JNET has that?” We want to be able to give them your name!
Networking Often Takes Some Fine Tuning
Woody Allen once said “Showing up is 80 percent of life.” That has some truth to it. But in networking, you have to take it one step further. It's not enough just to show up. You've got to suit up and be prepared to engage with people and develop a level of rapport. Rapport isn't instantaneous. It takes time to develop and establish trust.
To help members network more efficiently, Membership Committee Co-Chairs Dalia Hayon and Max Izenberg with committee member Jackson Schwartz are creating a new workshop, “Schmooze with a Purpose,” where members who are new to networking can pick up tips, and more seasoned networkers can get a quick refresher course. Keep an ear to the ground for more updates. Rumor is there may be wine and cheese involved!
JNET Cares
- Mazel Tov to Steve Marche on the engagement of his son, Justin, to Jules Lennehan on March 11, 2017.
- Congratulations to Louis Hirsch, President of Parker Lighting, Inc., which is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
If you have news about JNET members (business successes, mitzvahs, get well wishes, condolences, etc.), please contact Sandy Hollander at sandy@letsgotrvl.net or Max Izenberg, max-2223@hotmail.com, Co-Chairs of the Care Committee.
JNET in the News
- JNET’s “How Jews Schmooze” ad appeared in the March 31 edition of the Jewish Journal. We have had great response to our ad, which continues to help us build our membership as well as our recognition in the community. The ad will appear again in the May, June, September and November issues. We are grateful to JNET Board Member Judy Robitschek of robi-chex graphic design + production who designed this eye-catching advertisement.
Involvement Opportunities
Volunteering is the best way to develop deeper relationships, get known by JNET’s leaders and members and strengthen personal and business connections. Please consider lending a little of your time, energy and expertise to the growth and success of JNET by taking one of the chapter positions available or considering what you can contribute to our organization on the committee or Board level. You can assist with PR or the functionality of our website, help chapters fill their speaker slots, be on the Social Committee and help plan our mixers—or fill a void that is yet to be discovered.
The Thousand Oaks and Westwood chapters are still in need of a Public Relations/Eblast Coordinator. The position involves adding meetings to the online Calendar, creating flyers, emailing meeting notifications, and posting information on social media and online bulletin boards. No previous PR experience is necessary, though good writing, computer skills and attention to detail are a must. Training will be provided. For more information, contact JNET Thousand Oaks President Steve Marche at 805-374-6000 or ThousandOaks@jnetonline.org or JNET Westwood President Barry Sikov at 310-476-9720 or Westwood@jnetonline.org.
If you are interested in serving on a JNET committee, please contact Judi Lirman, Chair of the Nominating Committee, at 818-939-7098 or JudiMFT@gmail.com.
Speaker Opportunities
Under JNET's rules and regulations, members can speak at a chapter meeting twice a year (every 181 days) but not at the same chapter in the same calendar year. In the past, JNET’s Board of Directors has given special dispensation to new and smaller chapters, that are enthusiastic about growing their membership but are meeting with some obstacles in getting speakers to sign up. The Board is allowing them to have members speak without breaking the two-time speaking rule. The Board is giving this dispensation to the JNET South Bay, Tarzana AM, and Thousand Oaks chapters for a period of six months in the 2017 calendar year. For more information, contact JNET South Bay President Eran Conforty at 917-349-1695 or econforty@gmail.com, Tarzana AM President Phil Blum at 323-823-2479 or pblum@financialguide.com or Thousand Oaks President Steve Marche at 805-374-6000 or ThousandOaks@jnetonline.org.
If you have any other questions, please contact Judi Lirman, JNET Vice Chair, at 818-939-7098 or JudiMFT@gmail.com.
JNET Contact Information:
Chapter Support/Nominating Committee – Judi Lirman, Judimft@gmail.com
Care Committee – Sandy Hollander, sandy@letsgotrvl.net and Max Izenberg, max-2223@hotmail.com
Finance – Randy Michel, CPA rmichel@wongholland.com
Growth – Jackie Mendelson, jackie@tastymagic.com
Membership – Dalia Hayon, dalia@daliahayon.com, and Max Izenberg, max-2223@hotmail.com
Programs/Speakers – Jennifer Maraia, Jennifer@MomTheRealtor.com
Public Relations/Communications – Robin Kellogg, robin@yourwritingresource.com
Facebook Page – JNET Administrator, info@jnetonline.org
LinkedIn Group – Stuart Fried, stuart@whereyouexcel.com
Social Events – Sandy Hollander, sandy@letsgotrvl.net, and Gail Salem, gailmsalem@gmail.com
Website – JNET Administrator, info@jnetonline.org
Other questions – info@jnetonline.org
Stay Connected and Join the Conversation:
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Corporate:
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Contact:
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