By Thomas Wissinger
Thomas Wissinger Vice President of the Jewish Community of Louisville and Executive Director of the Trager Family JCC
This past weekend – March 21-22 – CenterStage Academy presented the musical Disney’s The Lion King Jr., where more than 25 kids lived their best lives performing in front of sell-out crowds in the Shapira Foundation Auditorium. Academy is a tremendous program that has impacted the lives of hundreds of young performers throughout the Louisville community. As Executive Director of the Trager Family JCC, I am extremely proud that we offer this wonderful program to the community through our JCC.
My daughter was one of those kids who performed in that CenterStage Academy’s production. At 11 years old, she has found a love for performing, singing and dancing, and more importantly, she has found her fellow artist community here at the Trager Family JCC. As Haleigh’s father, I am exceptionally grateful that she has found her people, and I am so appreciative of the directors and the other families who have shared this truly life-altering experience with us over the years.
Indeed, this recent weekend was another reminder of the “why” we are doing the “what” we do every day at the Trager Family JCC. If you are reading this article, there is a good chance that at some point you have heard me speak about building communities within communities, because that is our goal: to find community for each and every person who comes through our doors.
Earlier this month we held our annual all-staff meeting, where over 120 full and part-time employees spent an evening together to have fun, share dinner, and learn while continuing to strengthen our own community. During the evening’s programming, we conducted an exercise aimed at discussing our agency’s and our individual purposes in our respective roles. One of the members of my group, a fitness instructor, gave a great explanation about how she views her position at the Trager Family JCC. Yes, she is a fitness instructor, and yes, she helps our members lead healthier lives, but she doesn’t regard that as the most important aspect of her job. She feels her higher purpose is providing activities where people could come together and be with one another. In other words, to offer a platform for people to build relationships with others, to find their someone (most often many someones), and to mutually navigate this thing we call life. I absolutely loved what she shared because I strongly believe that is what we do here every day.
But what was even better was how everyone at in our group, including members of our fitness, Early Learning Center, front desk, Camp J and administrative teams echoed that sentiment. That, yes, they provide a desired service, but they all believe that what they do each day amounts to so much more. Every day these staffers are at work, they are building those connections. They appreciate that what they do not only bolsters community inside our walls; it travels deep into the community at large. It was incredible to hear that throughout our organization, no matter what their job title, staff from all departments were embodying this mindset.
The next time you are at the Trager Family JCC, spend some time at the History Wall. Watching and listening to so many of our community members recall how the JCC has impacted them and their families over the decades is awe-inspiring. Who knows – maybe you’ll find yourself, a friend or a family member in the many pictures that scroll across the screen. I have seen numerous individuals get emotional when hearing these stories or viewing these old photos, because it’s the memories of the community that they or their family shared with others that continue to evoke such strong connections.
As a non-native-Louisvillian, I don’t have those same memories. Growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania, I wasn’t familiar with what a JCC was, let alone the impact a JCC can have on a community. But as this past weekend made abundantly clear, my daughter will have those memories. From her own journey through our ELC program, Camp J, swim lessons and now CenterStage Academy, the Trager Family JCC is her JCC. The CenterStage Academy is her community. As a father and as a professional, I could not be more proud and thankful for the fellowship shared with Haleigh and my family through all that the Trager Family JCC offers.
So come and spend some quality time at the Trager Family JCC. Sign up for a new program, take a new class, introduce yourself to a new friend. And if you need some assistance to find your place and your people, let us know and we’ll do our best to help. Our goal is to create opportunities for each and every member of Louisville’s Jewish community to find their community here at the Trager Family JCC. In each iteration of the Jewish Community Center we’ve been building community one relationship at a time for 136 years – and we’ll continue to do so for generations to come.
Thomas Wissinger is Vice President of the Jewish Community of Louisville and Executive Director of the Trager Family JCC.