TBI president recounts how her childhood influenced her position

Her first presidency was when she was 11. 

In the suburbs of Boston, her friends picked Longboater Lois Barson captain of the Safety Patrol. It caught her by surprise.

Another time in her childhood, Barson remembered how involved her family was in the local Jewish community center. She resisted when her parents forced her to go to the youth group there.

“When I came home, I looked at my parents and couldn’t keep my surprise," Barson said. "I was elected president. I didn’t know why I kept getting those positions. I must have been that I was the oldest child and I'm a bit bossy, although I’m a quieter bossy.”

Now, as president of Temple Beth Israel, Barson couldn’t help but think back to those times. They taught her skills that she brings into her life now and the lives of her fellow congregants.

After a hectic start to her presidency, she hopes to use her many years of leadership experience to guide the temple in the right direction this season.

Starting fresh

Looking back to 18 years ago, Barson had just become a widow when she started attending the temple regularly. During her grieving time, she would sit in the back left corner of the synagogue and leave immediately when the service was over.

Wanting to get her life together after this tragedy, Barson started mingling with people after services, especially those who she recognized from other organizations, such as the Longboat Key Democratic Club. 

As a retired educator, she said her favorite time is cleanup because that is the perfect time to get to know people in an unstructured way. 

While helping clean up after service one day, she started talking to her friend Judy Goldstein, who convinced her to join Beth Israel Women. Barson explained after the first session, everyone felt like an old friend. 

Barson continued with the temple women’s group and dived deep into involvement within the congregation. She has now been on the board for 16 years, taking on different roles from a trustee to the secretary and the chair of the social action committee. 

“I was a young widow when I first came here, but this was one of the places where I found a home, definitely a spiritual home,” said Barson.

Teaching background

For 40 years, Barson worked in the education field in Pennsylvania as an elementary school teacher, college professor and superintendent. She specialized in teacher training, curriculum writing, and curriculum implementation. She moved full-time to Longboat Key in 2004. 

Barson was asked many times to be president throughout her many years of involvement at the temple. With the variety of opinions on the board, she thought she could use her experience as an educator and leadership skills to bring the congregation together. 

On the first day of her presidency, Barson did not anticipate the roof falling in after Hurricane Debby, with two major hurricanes following shortly behind that.

After a setback because of these events, things are looking up as we get into the season. Barson’s primary goal as she continues her presidency is to revitalize membership and keep the temple’s finances stable.

“I'm a facilitator,” said Barson. “I really look at my job as a representative for the congregation that elected me. I lead them through their many opinions. I’m very grateful for both executive director Isaac (Azerad) and our Rabbi because it makes my life a lot easier. After all this, we deal with everything together.”