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Dear Friends:

The annual Sixteenth Street Synagogue dinner party is scheduled for Monday, June 22. This is
an opportunity to dress up in your finest duds, to savor New York’s most delicious food, to
drink great wine, then to push the chairs aside and dance up a storm all in profound gratitude
to this year’s honorees, Phoebe and Richard McBee. For their tireless devotion, unsparing
efforts and generosity in sustaining our shul in every facet of its work, they are being toasted
and feted. This should not come as a surprise, for we all know that without the McBees the
Sixteenth Street Synagogue may not have survived the multiple challenges placed in its path
over the past few years.

It was God’s will for us to endure the exile from our sanctuary during a prolonged renovation,
but ultimately to return to our home under the competent leadership of Richard McBee.
Richard is fearless in managing the complex legal and financial issues confronting our shul on
a daily basis. He is passionate in his observance and thirst for Torah knowledge, and is driven
by a firm belief in building a congregational family and in providing a shul in the Village for
Jews from near and far. Richard planned and watched over the renovation, and since our
return is never reluctant to roll up his sleeves and do the hard and gritty work, the myriad
tasks of maintaining a newly renovated building. For synagogue presidents the joys of shul
building are often accompanied by turmoil and disappointments, luckily for Richard there is
the comfort in the unfailing support of Phoebe. Synagogues endure due to the talent and
generosity of many people over a period of many years, but in large part, after a most difficult
period in the history, we are still here and even flourishing thanks to Phoebe and Richard’s
commitment to each other and their commitment to the future of the Sixteenth Street
Synagogue.

Each year we also celebrate the accomplishments of an individual who contributes beyond
measure to the shul’s growth. This year we have the privilege of awarding the Community
Service Award to Ellen R. Cherrick. A long time member and most often the first woman to
enter the shul on Shabbat morning, Ellen has been responsible for many successful shul
projects, and most recently was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Board of
Trustees. We are thrilled to honor Ellen and the work she has accomplished.

Annual dinners are not just dropped from heaven ready and waiting for us to attend. Behind
the scenes is a dedicated, hardworking committee that has meticulously researched venues and
caterers and selected honorees. This year’s Annual Dinner will be held on Monday, June 22,
from 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM at the Midtown Loft and Terrace, 267 Fifth Avenue at 29th Street.
We thank Norma and Victor Bellino, Vivian Klaus, Joan Nachmani, Fern and Leslie Penn, and
Rhonda Rose for their exceptional work in organizing this major fundraising event.
So please join us for a joyous simcha in honor of Phoebe and Richard McBee and Ellen R.
Cherrick at one of Manhattan’s most exciting spaces on June 22nd.

Sincerely,
Jeff Katz