The Latest from BZBI

Meet Denine!

July 7, 2016

On a beautiful, classic June summer day I made a trip to BZBI to visit our lovely Denine. We sat down in her office, which is complete with a fabulous carpet, and I asked her a few questions.

When having asked what her role here at BZBI includes, I was quickly overwhelmed by the amount of important things that Denine does, oftentimes, behind the curtain. It started with, “A little bit of everything, but I’m primarily the bookkeeper.” Being the bookkeeper means that Denine takes care of paying bills, paying staff, collecting money, doing account receivables, and working with the executive director on budgets. Additionally, a very important aspect of her job is being a representative of the synagogue which includes but is not limited to; answering the phones, greeting people, acting as a sympathetic ear, and doing “whatever needs to be done when it needs to be done.”  She added, “Working here puts me in a very special realm, not just being a bookkeeper but helping to maintain overall well-being.” Before working at BZBI, Denine was a chef and caterer, worked at William Sonoma, taught catering and cooking classes (some even at BZBI!), wrote food blogs, and still continues to write a couple of monthly blog posts for the Collingswood Farmers’ Market.

Denine’s favorite things about the synagogue include the variety, people, daily jobs, and general love for the people she works with. This year, she will be wrapping up her 12th season of working at BZBI and going into her 13th. This especially boggled my mind considering I have a 13 year old brother at home. However, if she could change one thing about BZBI it would be either the physical building or the ability to add more administrative staff, “Having more administrative staff would be great, but there’s nowhere to put them. I’m astounded when I see congregations smaller than ours, but with more staff members.” Over the summer, her goals include “…just adapting to changes and keeping things running smoothly and consistently. Consistency is important.”

When asked to respond to a hypothetical situation dealing with a new member who may be feeling uncomfortable at BZBI, Denine answered “On a personal level, I would do whatever I could, but as an employee, it’s not quite my position. I would reassure from my own personal experience as being an outsider once. Then, I would try to find a clergy member or another congregant to be an assistant to them, to steer them to the right committee or place.” Denine does not have a Jewish background, and has a very supportive ear for any member, new or not, who is feeling uncomfortable at BZBI.

image00Denine told me that she works primarily with Donna and Phyllis, “We’re the trio” she described. This led me to ask if “the trio” had an official squad name, but it appears that they do not. They do, however, often think of themselves as if they were starring in a sitcom – “The Shul”. I found this particularly humorous, and will be waiting patiently until the first season comes out! It was a great pleasure to interview Denine, and of course, had to be commemorated with none other than a selfie.

Tags: , ,
top