A View From the Trenches: Past, Present, and Future

A View From the Trenches: Past, Present, and Future

Note from Andy: This month, in place of my regular column, Dave Stauffer, Federation CFO, asked to share his thoughts.

I’ve worked at Federation for over 14 years. During that time, I’ve experienced, and learned, a lot. I want to share a personal glimpse of what it’s like in the trenches of the day-to-day operations of the Federation, and to shamefully brag about the blessings bestowed upon me since I got here.

I started at the Federation on April 8, 2008. I considered it a gift from G-d when I received a call from Gary Weiss alerting me that the Federation CFO position was open and that I should apply. At the time, I was employed as a CFO of a local nursing home group that had come upon some very unique challenges. My quality of life was not where I wanted it to be, so I agreed to meet with Gary to talk about the position. Fourteen and half years later I’m still here, in the trenches, coming to a place every day that I don’t consider work. I feel like the position was meant for me and have cherished every moment. That being said, I have seen and dealt with a lot through the years.

I had the privilege of working for Sam Kooperman, of blessed memory, who I considered to be both a mentor and a friend. Sam taught me about respect, toughness, compassion, and business. One of his greatest qualities was his genuine compassion to treat everyone equally and as a human being.

I also had the good fortune to work with people like Alvin Weisberg and Gary Weiss, who most of you know but may not have seen in action. Alvin was a social worker who never said no when he was contacted about a problem. More often than I can mention, he would respond to someone in need no matter the time of day or night. I once visited him in the hospital when he was ill and he was literally on the phone, in his hospital bed, taking care of an issue for one of clients.

Gary’s skills and work ethic were great, but the quality I remember most about him was his passion. He truly cared about this community, never forgot a face, and took pride in knowing every employee as well as every resident and their immediate families by name. I would walk the halls with him and listen to him talk to everyone about their families or what was going on in their lives. Gary’s energy and effort contributed significantly to Heritage Manor’s reputation as one of the best nursing homes in the area.

These individuals paved the way for our current CEO, Andy Lipkin. Not many communities are fortunate enough to have a person ready to step right in and continue a legacy that was humbly started 85 years ago. Prior to becoming the Federation’s executive vice-president, now re-named CEO, Andy was able to develop our annual campaign into the crown jewel of the country when it comes to per capita giving. As many of you might know, the amount of money we raise per capita is the highest in the nation. This doesn’t just happen by circumstance. Under Andy’s leadership, we are definitely doing great and impactful work. And, Andy has been steadfast in our agencies’ efforts to communicate to both the Jewish and general communities about our good work. I often think of the old saying – if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it really fall? Well Andy has been the person responsible for letting everyone know, yes, that tree really did fall.

Over the past four months, I’ve had to wear multiple hats with our interim Federation management team of Bonnie Burdman and Lisa Long during Andy’s leave of absence. I know I can speak for the team when I say that we have a new-found appreciation for our fearless leader. As if the job wasn’t tough enough – 300 plus employees; $18 million budget; five separate corporations, including a fairly new Foundation and brand-new cemetery association; and 25 different departments and cost centers – we now have to deal with COVID and its ever-changing challenges never before experienced (e.g. labor shortages, inflation, attracting and retaining staff, shutdowns, operational pivots at a moment’s notice, etc.) And the current up-tick of antisemitism related to the pandemic has added even more challenges. While Bonnie, Lisa, and I have only been at the helm for four months, Andy has been successfully navigating our organization every day for the past six years and we anxiously look forward to his return.

Despite all these challenges our community continues to thrive and grow. Our services and outreach to the Jewish and general communities has never been stronger. Here’s a great example. Recently, a Youngstown native now living out of state made a point to stop in to the JCC while he was visiting local family, and wanted to give us a donation for our meals program. As it turns out, we deliver meals to his mother and, in his words “it’s been a Godsend for his mother.” These are the moments that make our work so worthwhile and truly warm my heart. 

The amount of time, effort, and money that the Jewish community has put into the Federation is truly impressive. You all have reason to be proud of your Federation and its accomplishments that you have generously supported and be assured the future is bright. We are expanding our programming and our infrastructure to ensure that our community’s Jewish identity remains vibrant and welcoming. We are known as “The Best Small Jewish Community in North America” and that doesn’t happen by accident. I can’t thank the Jewish community enough for placing their trust in us and I look forward to the future.

Dave Stauffer
Youngstown Area Jewish Federation CFO