On Friday, June 3rd Marc Tapper became the thirteenth recipient of the Stanley & Eleanor Trebach Award. This award, created in loving memory of Stanley & Eleanor (z”l), honors Temple members who, like the Trebachs, have provided “longstanding, faithful and unassuming service” to the Beth El Temple Center community.
Marc joins distinguished predecessors, Shevie Tananbaum, Marsha Mattison, Ruth & Richard Vallon, Ted Wayne, Florence Cooperstein, Alice Salamon, Ruth Cohen, Norman Goldstein (z”l), Bettina Winter, Irving Gerber, Charlotte Goldstein (z”l) and Archie Stepansky as Trebach honorees.
Marc is definitely not the oldest of our Trebach honorees. Nevertheless, he is among the best exemplars of “longstanding service” to Beth El. Marc has been part of this congregation for almost all of his 55 years! Marc graduated from Beth El’s Nursery School, attended religious school here (by his own account, misbehaving in class!), celebrated his Bar Mitzvah and Confirmation in our sanctuary, and played an active role in BEFTY and NFTY regional events throughout his high school years. Marc describes those high school experiences as having a profound impact on his Jewish identity and commitment. Among his contributions to the Temple during high school, Marc helped to organize one of BEFTY’s first Mitzvah Days—a fundraiser to provide support for Israel in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
After attending Syracuse University, Marc returned to Belmont and joined his family’s successful business, Empire Alarm. In 1982, Marc married his wife, Jill, here at Beth El and the couple eventually joined the congregation themselves. That decision turned out to be a double blessing for Beth El as Marc and Jill not only advised BEFTY together but Jill went on to distinguished service on our Board and served as Temple President from 2007-2009. Along the way, their children, Abigail and Benjamin, became the third generation of Tappers to call Beth El home and to make important leadership contributions of their own. In fact, Marc and Jill’s son, Ben, is a member of this year’s Confirmation Class.
Marc’s parents, Estelle and Fred Tapper, also have been devoted to this community. Estelle served in a variety of leadership roles over the years and, from 1979-1981, was the first woman ever to serve as President of Beth El. In fact, Estelle is still serving as a member of our Adult Learning committee. Fred Tapper (z”l), very much like his oldest son, seems to have adjusted, fixed and cared for just about every aspect of our physical plant. I gather that then as now, when a problem arose somewhere in the Temple’s infrastructure or somebody just needed a hand, people’s first instinct was to ‘call Tapper.’ That hasn’t changed.
In addition to helping guide BEFTY, Marc has served as President of Brotherhood, Chair of the House Committee and also as an active member of both our 1999 Building Renovation Committee and our 2009 Sanctuary Renovation Committee. More important than those leadership positions, however, is the way Marc always has given (and continues to give) his heart and soul to this congregation. Whenever something needs fixing around the Temple or someone needs help, Marc is one of the first to be called because of his constant, generous willingness to help out however he can. While never shy in voicing his opinions about what will be best for Beth El, Marc’s open-hearted, powerful love and concern for this congregation shines through everything he says and does here.
