DAVID LACHER & DAVA YAVETZ TO BE HONORED
AT FIFTY-SEVENTH DINNER DANCE ON SUNDAY, MAY 2, 2010

It was the spring of 1979, as David Lacher and Dava Yavetz were making final preparations for their wedding, that they began to think about where they would live after they were married. There was no natural destination based upon their respective backgrounds. Dava had grown up in Waterbury, Connecticut, where her mother was very active in the Beth El Conservative synagogue there. Dava was then working in Tarrytown and living in Peekskill. David was born and raised in Syracuse, where his father was an officer and gabbai rishon in the Young Israel. David was living and working in Manhattan. Their search for affordable housing within reasonable walking distance of a synagogue, in a community with a highly regarded school system, brought them to New Rochelle and to Beth El.

David began his service to the congregation in the early 1980s as secretary of the Ritual Committee. He first was nominated to the Beth El Board of Trustees at the age of thirty, and except for a single constitutionally mandated sabbatical year, this year marks David’s silver anniversary as a Beth El Trustee. He was synagogue counsel in the administrations of two past presidents and has been chair and a member of numerous other committees. He first served as a vice president from 1997-1999 and he became Executive Vice President in 2004. He was elected President of the synagogue in 2006, and in June of 2009, coinciding with the end of Beth El’s Centennial observance, David retired after three years as President. Even after concluding his presidency, David continues to serve the congregation as a member of the Executive and Human Resources Committees, and this year he again chairs the Nominating Committee. Those who attend our religious services know he is an accomplished Torah and Haftarah reader as well as a sh’liach tzibbur (service leader). In the fall he decided to return to the musical roots of his early childhood and he became the accompanist for the Beth El Centennial choir. 

David also is well known in the larger New Rochelle community as a member of the Board of Education, where he continues to serve into his 18^th year, including two years each as president and vice president. He is a board member of the New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency, the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce and the United Hebrew Caring For Generations facility. Over the years he has been active in the local Bar Association, the Democratic Party and has been a member of the Westchester County Association. In 2003, David was honored by the Interreligious Council of New Rochelle for his record of distinguished community service, and in 2005 he was honored by the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce as Educational Leader of the Year. David received his law degree from Syracuse University, where he was a published author and an editor of the Law Review. In his professional life, he maintains a private law practice in downtown New Rochelle, where his clients include many Beth El members.

Dava Yavetz has served Beth El as well, as a member of the Religious School Board. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a major in psychology and completed her course work for a Master’s in psychology from Syracuse University. It was at Mount Holyoke, while David was a student at Amherst College, that they met at a joint Hillel function. In her professional life, Dava is a Senior Program Director for Cultural Care Au Pair, where she has worked in progressive capacities the last 13 years. She also serves Beth El members among her host family clients. Prior to joining Cultural Care, Dava worked for the former General Foods Corporation and also for two prominent market research suppliers in Manhattan.

Dava and David have two daughters who began attending Beth El services when they were babies. Samantha also graduated from Amherst and now works in public relations in Manhattan. Ana will graduate from New Rochelle High School in June and is awaiting her college admissions. Both marked their B’nei Mitzvot at Beth El, where they were prepared by our Honoree, and both attended Beth El’s Religious School. Ana also graduated from our Community Hebrew High School, and has worked in various capacities at Beth El. Samantha recently became engaged to Joshua Lieberson and the entire family is looking forward to their wedding in October.

To Dava and David, Beth El Synagogue is proud to honor you at our fifty-seventh Annual Dinner Dance on May, 2nd