The questions I would like to answer

 

Since returning to Las Vegas, I have fielded a number of questions about a wide range of topics, but there are two or three questions that I get far more often than the others.  Stop reading now and see if you can guess what the new President & CEO of the Jewish Federation is asked most often?

 

The top three questions I hear are: "Why would you move back here?" "What were you thinking?" "Do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself in to?"

 

I understand that everyone has different opinions and thoughts on the community and the challenges that we face.  There are also varying accounts of our history and the decisions that have been made.  We should always strive to learn from our history of past successes and failures and keep them has historical milestones.  That said, while I'm happy to answer questions regarding the community; I would much rather have a conversation about our future.

 

Lets have a conversation about where we are going instead of where we've been; how we can improve upon the work of the previous generations; what will the next 50 years bring our community; and how do we go from good to great.  These are the questions that I would love to be asked, because this is the direction in which the community needs to move.  

 

There are few other Jewish communities in North America like Las Vegas.  There are over 70,000  members of the community, we are diverse in geography, ritual observance, age and nearly every other criteria. We have internally renowned philanthropists, business leaders, educators and professionals that call our community home.  There is a lot to be proud of about the Las Vegas community and there is certainly a foundation on which we can continue to build.  So…the next time we see each other, let's talk about these things.  I look forward to hearing from you and talking about the future of our community.

 

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukah,

 

Todd S. Polikoff

President & CEO

Jewish Federation of Las Vegas