Meet New JFS Board President Bruce Matza
Bruce Matza was elected president of the JFS board of directors at the board meeting on June 27. He has served as vice president of the board and chair of the development committee, having worked on the Celebration of Service fundraising event since its inception six years ago. He is the immediate past president of the Mount Zion Brotherhood. In past years, Bruce has served as president of Jewish Family Service Agency of Las Vegas, president of Congregation Ner Tamid in Henderson, Nevada and president of Temple Emanuel in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
As president, Bruce looks forward to continuing to promote the JFS mission of helping individuals and families build on their strengths to develop the skills and confidence to meet life’s challenges with dignity. He looks forward to supporting the staff who are serving over 4,200 individuals each year in the local community and helping develop the next generation of leadership on the board of directors.
Bruce continues to work part-time as an executive mentor and a strategic planning advisor. Bruce and his business partner have designed and facilitated leadership academies for several professional not-for-profit associations. He has over 50 years of experience with such prominent brands as Neiman Marcus, where he was a senior executive for 20 years. His client base has included Walt Disney World, Harrods of London, Marriott, Motorola, Harley Davidson, National Funeral Directors Association, Texas Association of REALTORS®, and the US Chamber of Commerce Institute.
He is author and creator of Becoming a Customer Service Star, initially designed for Walt Disney World. It is in a third edition published by HRDQ and to date has sold over 250,000 copies.
Bruce is a graduate of the University of Florida, served honorably as an officer in the U.S. Air force and has been featured in many articles and stories in addition to being a guest on The NBC Today Show.
Bruce and his wife, Annie, reside in Cottage Grove. They have been married for 52 years and relocated to the Twin Cities in 2014 from Nevada when they traded gambling for grandchildren. Annie and Bruce take great pride in their four grandchildren, Ava (17) and Alec (13) located in Hudson, Wisconsin and Carter (13) and Elle (9) in Marin County, California.