John Pritzker bids farewell as Board President
John Pritzker, JCF Board President from 2006-2008, delivered his farewell remarks at the Federation’s Annual Meeting on June 5, 2008. Below is his speech.
Two and a half years ago I was asked to take on the role of President of Federation. About 20 minutes after I agreed, I heard the phrase “never pass up an opportunity to keep your mouth shut.” With that, in June of 2006 I began my term. Two years later I am relinquishing the position, having thoroughly enjoyed almost every day.
For those of you who have committed to memory each of my prior Annual Meeting speeches, you’ll no doubt remember that I signed on to this position because of my sense of “there but by the grace of God go I.” My wife Lisa and I have always felt it important that we try to set an example for our three sons and to give of the good fortune that life has given to us.
The truth is that I had no idea just how meaningful these two years would become for me, – how much pride I would feel about the community, the staff – and the work we’ve done. Our theme for last year’s annual meeting was Changing Times, Changing Federation. Our theme for this annual meeting is Implementing Change. You don’t even have to look that closely to see the progress.
You installed me in this important role and gave me your vote of confidence at a time when change was both necessary and inevitable. Theodore Roosevelt said, “Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time.” I believe as an organization we’ve gotten wise just in time.
The Federation model that has served us so well for so many years – here and nationally – hasn’t been as effective or relevant as it once was. The 2004 Community Study and our own experience gave us a new understanding of our community’s changing demographics, needs, appetite, giving patterns, and even ways of communicating. Who knew about blogs and Facebook just a few years ago? Now they play an important role in our marketing plans.
And while change is an oft used and popular concept, change is not without its own issues. We have made some important ones in these past two years, and before I pass the baton to Jim and Daniel, I’d like to address a couple of the significant changes being implemented at Federation: Changes that will at times create some dislocation and uncertainty – because that’s what change does.
Let me start with a fundamental change – that of integration. As a result of The Strategic Funding Initiative we have a comprehensive plan to unify our annual campaign and endowment efforts. This integration of knowledge and resources has the potential to greatly increase the positive impact we can have on our community and its needs. The Federation as a whole can and should be greater than the sum of its parts – but only when all of its parts are working in concert with one another.
A second area of change is our ability to create and improve on our collaborations. An example of this can be seen in the highly inclusive Regional Commissions. The commissions bring together dozens of lay people from around our service area and represent our efforts to prioritize our engagement and provide a new framework for determining community needs and appropriate interventions and then raising the funds with a more focused purpose. This is a dramatic departure from the days of merely splitting the pie.
The Synagogue Initiative is another collaborative effort aimed at long-term relationship building with our Synagogues through programs and outreach. Every day we strive to make progress that is aimed at drawing our institutions more closely together.
The Israel @ 60 Mission was collaboration at its best. It was a transformative experience for over 100 people including the first sitting Mayor of San Francisco to visit Israel. We had the opportunity to view Israel through a lens unlike any we’d ever seen.
Bringing this extraordinary journey together required the imagination, vision, talent; skill and partnership of our lay leaders and staff. Organized and chaired by the Business Leadership Council, planning required the efforts of The Israel Center, the Federation’s Israel Office, Lehrhaus Judaica, the “j”, the Mayor’s Office, and untold members of Federation staff, from planning to marketing and everything in between. The impact of this trip will undoubtedly play out over the coming years and has created a new model for our missions in the future.
The final arena of implementing change is that of leadership. You might have noticed we haven’t had a CEO for quite some time. We were determined to hold out for a Chief Executive who could help to ensure that we evolve as a vibrant and relevant organization.
And while “holding out” sounds stoic and noble, I can’t begin to tell you the stress that it placed on staff and lay leadership. So one of the main points I want you to leave with today is that, from a firsthand perspective, I can tell you that Federation has a truly magnificent and dedicated staff. I could go on and on about them. Suffice it to say, as much as anything else, they have made the past two years such a rewarding experience for me.
We held out for the leader our community and our Federation deserves. And thanks to the work of the Search Committee, co-chaired by David Agger and Tom Kasten, we believe we’ve found an exciting and dynamic leader. And so it is a pleasure today to welcome our new CEO, Daniel Sokatch.
Daniel joins us after a notable communal career in Los Angeles. He is a young man of considerable achievement and even greater promise. I have spent a good deal of time with Daniel. He is a bright, energetic and visionary guy with a very quick mind and equally fast sense of humor. He’ll be a shirtsleeves-rolled-up type of leader who will appeal to multiple generations both within our community and as a national figure. I have every confidence that Danny will inspire and lead with style, integrity, passion and equanimity.
The next significant change in leadership takes place as the preeminent community endowment director in the country, our own Phyllis Cook, passes her very unique and highly effective baton – some have called it a magic wand – to Lisa Gurwitch.
Phyllis and the endowment staff along with various iterations of Endowment Committees have built the Endowment Fund into one of the leading community funds in the nation, and we look forward to great and innovative developments under Lisa’s leadership.
And last amongst these significant changes in leadership – is my own. I am confident, in handing over the reins to my good friend Jim Koshland, that he will guide the Federation along this complicated but critical path from change to a new form of dynamic stability – one strengthened by the pillars of integration, collaboration and leadership.
So my time is literally and officially up now, but first I have a few people I have to thank. The president’s role, and certainly in the absence of a CEO, can be a fairly demanding one. I owe enormous thanks to my wife Lisa. She has set an example within our family not just through our philanthropy but also by giving of our time to the community. She not only tolerated my frequent meetings and weekend calls, but accompanied me to many events and gave of her time and energy to support me in my responsibilities.
I’d also like to thank our 15 year old son Sam, but I have a feeling he might not have even noticed I was gone!
I am also indebted to way too many people to name here. I especially want to thank the JCF officers to whom I was able to turn for wise counsel day or night. Without them I’d have been a sitting duck.
Deena Soulon deserves special recognition. Deena expended untold hours and sacrificed valuable family time to ensure our growth and stability. She helped lead us through a tumultuous period and made one difficult decision after another. Her support and availability were unwavering, and the organization and community owe her an enormous debt of gratitude for the many accomplishments she helped us to achieve.
I especially want to thank Phyllis Cook. Not only is she a valued family friend, but without her noodging and support I, like dozens of other community leaders, simply would never have found my way to Federation.
My term as President may have begun out of a sense of responsibility and a belief in the need to give back – but it is ending with my own sense of gratitude for having had such an amazing experience. So I’m grateful to all of you – staff of the JCF and our volunteers and lay leaders; it has been a pleasure and an honor to work with you at this pivotal juncture in our organization and our community’s history.
Thank you!
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