Alan Crane, President, Board of Trustees and Gateways Parent
Sweet Sounds Closing Remarks

My name is Alan Crane and I am the president of the Board of Gateways.   I want to add my congratulations and thanks to Erik and Jennifer and to Sue.  My wife Leslie and I have three sons in day school, twins at Gann Academy who will be returning this week from 12 weeks of study in Israel and our youngest son who just turned 13 and has special needs.  With the help of Gateways, he is thriving in a way that we did not think possible at South Area Schechter both academically and socially.  He is able to be a fully integrated and successful member of his Jewish community like his typically developing brothers because of the vision and persistence of these three extraordinary individuals.  I can’t help but think what his options would have been without the contributions of these pioneers.

I would also like to congratulate and thank our Sweet Sounds event chairs Rachel Chafetz, Dena Rashes and Sharon Shapiro for their tireless effort in making today a success (clap).  We should also give a special thanks to Arlene Remz and the entire Gateways staff for their devotion throughout the year to children with special needs – to each of them, Gateways is far more than a job, it is a passion (clap).

Finally, I want to thank all of you for supporting Gateways.  Without such extraordinary broad support from the Boston community, we would not be able to provide the services that we do. With your help, we have been able to continue to grow our offerings to more students, to more schools, and to more Jewish learning settings.  We have become nationally recognized for our efforts, and other communities around the country have been turning to us for advice.  The value of including every person, especially those with a disability, is a fundamental Jewish value.  Thank you for embracing this value as a community and for being here today.