Beth El Synagogue Center will honor David Lacher and Dava Yavetz at the 57th Annual Beth El Synagogue Center Dinner Dance on Sunday, May 2nd. The couple will be honored for their many years of service to the Beth El congregation and community. The Ne’emanim President’s Service Award will be presented to Hazzan Ellen and Graham Arad, in recognition of their commitment and service to Beth El. This year’s Dinner Dance theme is “To serve, to praise, to sing.” II Chronicles 31:2.
David Lacher and Dava Yavetz have been involved in the Beth El and New Rochelle communities. Dava has served on the Religious School Board, and in her professional life, is a senior program director for Cultural Care Au Pair, where she counts a number of Beth El families amongst her host clients. David, our immediate past president, has served Beth El in multiple leadership roles since the early 1980s. In addition to his three-year presidential term, highlights of his involvements include Ritual Committee secretary, Nominating Committee chair, synagogue counsel, vice president, executive vice president and twenty-five years of continuous service on the Board of Trustees, with the exception of one mandated sabbatical year. In the larger New Rochelle community, David has also made quite an impact. He has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards; plus, he has served as a member of the Board of Education for the past eighteen years.
Hazzan Ellen and Graham Arad have made the Beth El community a priority in their lives for the past 20 years. As a Jewish educator, Ellen has been a vibrant leader of Torah for Tots, a musical director of our Summer Session, and a teacher in our Religious School. She has also spearheaded and co-chaired a number of initiatives and committees, including Ritual, Youth Activities, Havurah, Limud, ICAR, and Beth El’s memorable centennial celebrations. Ellen joined the Board of Trustees in 2001 and served as a vice president from 2003 to 2009. This past May, Ellen was vested as a Hazzan with a master’s degree in Sacred Music. Graham is a regular Torah and Haftarah reader, and leader of a variety of Beth El services. Graham also makes a lasting impression on our youth and their families by serving as a mentor for the Bar/Bat Mitzvah Institute, and by acting as the adult advisor for our Junior and Teen Congregation services.
Contact Shery and Howard Rosenstein, Dinner Dance Chairs, to purchase tickets or contribute: (914) 632-7448 • s.rosenstein AT yahoo DOT com.