Growing up in a two-family home in East Cleveland, Neil Tramer said he witnessed quite a bit of antisemitism, and this, along with having a father who served 18 months in World War II, had a lasting impact on him.
When about 10 years ago he went to a morning minyan at Congregation B’nai Jacob in Charleston, W. Va., he asked how they were able to afford to give each participant breakfast, to which someone said, “We’re going to run out of Jews way before we run out of money,” Tramer made it his mission to make sure that does not happen.
“That was sort of a very inspirational messaging to me that I need to take as many initiatives as possible to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Tramer said. “I believe the JCC is one of the best vehicles to facilitate that. We have the ability to render both a conscious and a subconscious message to anybody who walks through our doors that imparts some Jewish messaging, and that’s our obligation and our opportunity, that motivates my involvement.”
Recently, he was very hands-on with the placement of the sukkah and the signage at the JCC so that as people walk in the building and see the sukkah, it renders an effective Jewish message, he said.
With the newest addition of Rabbi Carnie Rose joining The J as executive director in Jan. 2023, Tramer said they have a lot to look forward to and a lot to do and accomplish.
“Currently the chair of the JCC, he’s reinventing the way the J attracts new members and younger ones,” Rabbi Rosette Barron Haim, who is a member of the Cleveland Jewish Publication Company Board of Directors, said in nominating Tramer as a Difference Maker. “Neil has been involved in many boards and because of his wisdom is a cherished source of good counsel. An added feature is that he does stand up comedy and has helped with Celebrating Jewish Life’s adult Purim festivities.”
Haim said he has been a community leader for the last 20 years, impacting many different organizations, and commended Tramer and his wife, Jen, who have raised four children that have made their own contributions to the greater Jewish community.
In his professional work, Tramer founded his own accounting firm after a previous employer criticized him for having too much fun at work “and I decided at that point that I needed to be in an environment that embraced having fun at work,” he said.
Tramer spoke about the uniqueness of the Jewish experience to be welcomed in any city, anywhere, from a morning minyan at a synagogue to a basketball game at a JCC.
“It has no bounds, and the tikkun olam of learning to and embarking upon good deeds is just a critical messaging that we have the obligation to render to not only our children, but our community,” Tramer said. “And it’s an initiative that I feel passionate about.”