May 13, 2005/Iyar 4 5765, Volume 57, No. 37
End of an eraIlene Blau, EVJCC executive director of 19 years, retires
DONNA V. COHEN
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 Cynthia Benedict, early childhood director, left, Blau and Janette Silverman, Temple Beth Sholom religious school director, preside at this year's East Valley JCC school seder. Photo courtesy of EVJCC |
In her mind's eye, she can see the preschoolers learning their ABC's in the classrooms. She can hear the teens bouncing basketballs in the soon-to-be multipurpose room where fiberglass insulation is piled high across the floor.
Construction at this building at Alma School and Ray roads in Chandler will be complete this summer, and in July, the East Valley Jewish Community Center (EVJCC) will permanently open its doors there. At the same time, Blau will retire after 19 years as the center's executive director.
"This has been much more than a job and has changed my life in every way," says Blau, reflecting on her JCC career. "It has been a wonderful experience."
A combination of Blau's engaging personality, drive to bring people together socially and ability to wear many hats has helped her manage a Jewish community center that is now growing beyond its current 250 members.
Blau's family moved to Arizona from Chicago, where Blau was born, when she was just 10 months old. One of five siblings, Blau lived in West Phoenix and was accustomed to being among close-knit family and friends.
But she and her husband, Alan, who have three children, ended up living in Tempe after they were married, and for the young high school teacher, it felt like moving across the country rather than across the Valley. "I taught way out on the west side of town and did not have any friends in the East Valley," she recalls.
"I remember going to Temple Emanuel after the first year we moved here and walking down the aisle and thinking, 'All these people are here and I don't know anyone except for a few relatives that lived in the area.' I remember what a lonely feeling that was. It occurred to me that I needed to get involved in the community."
That's when her upward spiral in the world of administration began. She started out by working on the JCC's early childhood committee and then one thing led to another, so to speak. During her tenure as executive director at the East Valley JCC, she has been responsible for, and overseen, many changes, including the addition of infant and toddler programs, preschool classes for 2-year-olds, 10 weeks of summer camp, Men's Club, Book Club and resurrecting the B'nai Brith Youth Organization (BBYO).
She was also directly responsible for expanding adult programming, co-sponsoring community programs with East Valley congregations, and planning fund-raising and social activities such as an annual fund-raising gala, a progressive dinner and casino nights.
Her main focus today is raising money for the new East Valley JCC as a member of the Capital Campaign Team.
She says about $1.6 million has been raised so far in a budget of $4.7 million. Eventually, the JCC will be a "full-service" Jewish community center that will include a recreational facility, and the land that is adjacent to the new building will be developed for JCC programs.
"The membership now is closely tied with preschool programs but will increase proportionately to the growth of expanded programs for adults and teens," she explains.
"I am encouraged by the support that has been shown by members of the East Valley ... I'm hopeful that the community will realize that this is their opportunity to leave a legacy ... to use the center and to provide a center for the generations that use it now and for those that are to come," she adds.
Blau rarely talks about the JCC's past, present or future without giving credit to her fellow board members, staff and friends, many of whom have shared simchas together throughout the years.
Her reflections are flavored with memories of her relationships with people from all age groups.
"I love to see the (BBYO) teens shooting hoops on Wednesday nights in the courtyard, kidding with each other, driving up in their cars and socializing," Blau says. "I love my seniors who come on Tuesdays and poke their head in to say 'hello' and bring me an article or a recipe. We started a Men's Club on one Sunday morning a month. I'm just one of the guys and schmooze with them and talk about baseball scores and football scores and whatever is in the paper that morning."
Cynthia Benedict, who has been the EVJCC Preschool director for 29 years, fondly refers to Blau as "a one-woman show."
"She does it all for the Men's Club," Benedict says. "She obtains the speakers, gets the food, sets it all out, makes follow-up calls and stays afterwards to clean up."
"She's a genuinely good human being, the friendliest person I know and has a heart of gold," adds Benedict.
When asked if she feels that Blau's retirement marks the end of an era within the EVJCC community, Benedict pauses and then says, "Probably so. Ilene Blau's primary motivation was to grow the center and see it flourish in this part of the Valley."
EVJCC board member Linda Rickel is planning Blau's May 22 retirement party. She has known Blau since 1989, when her own daughter started preschool at the center. "I think that people will not fully appreciate Ilene until after she has retired. It's like she was the mother of the center. For her, it was never 'just a job.'"
Donna V. Cohen is a freelance writer in Cave Creek.