ORT America honored Larry Kadis as ORT America’s outgoing president at its 2019 annual meeting. Kadis has been a supporter and leader in his native Cleveland for more than 30 years and, together with his wife Suellen, has served on the organization’s national board of directors since 2013.
Kadis opened the day’s activities by acknowledging his appreciation for the service and tremendous efforts of ORT America’s board members, and shared the highlights of its achievements in the past year.
“As Leandro Margulis, ORT Argentina alumnus and ORT America board member said, ‘The more I have given to ORT, the more I have gotten back. I cannot think of a better organization bringing tikkun olam to life through education. And I couldn’t be happier to be part of ORT’s journey for the next hundred years!’ I could not agree more, Kadis said. “Thank you!”
Additional highlights from the day included:
Jeff Cooper, CEO, presented Kadis with a personalized seder plate to express our appreciation for his leadership during his term as president.
- World ORT President Conrad Giles, who is now a member of the ORT America Executive Committee, shared his support for the new ORT America and his hopes for the future.
- ORT’s Membership approved the by-law amendments, voted in Howard Lanznar as Chairman of the Board, and approved our new Board of Directors. Howard shared ORT America’s business plan to dramatically improve ORT’s fundraising efforts in the United States over the next five years.
- Board members Linda Kirschbaum and Gail Lanznar facilitated a lively fundraising exercise and participants generated action plans to secure an additional $1 million by October.
- To a captivated audience, Sivan Ya’ari, CEO and Founder of Innovation: Africa shared her amazing story from growing up in very modest conditions and how her non-profit organization transforms lives by bringing innovative Israeli solar and water technologies to remote African villages. Through Sivan Ya’ari’s own story, we learned how taking simple steps can lead to exponential impact.
Howard closed the Annual Meeting with a call to action. We have an incredible opportunity to positively impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of ORT Students. For the past 139 years, ORT has transformed millions of lives by serving as a catalyst for employability, skills and innovation. For all of the ORT students across 35 countries in 72 schools, and on behalf of the 10,500 ORT educators who empower these students to unlock their potential, please join us in making a commitment in support of ORT today.
