Welcome to NFTY-OV. Part of the NFTY culture is our language full of abbreviations, acronyms, Hebrew words and other phrases. Below is a glossary to help you learn the lingo.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

ePVP - Educational and Programming Vice President (see Board Positions below).

JYG - Junior Youth Group (see Events below).

GUCI – Goldman Union Camp Institute – Our regional URJ Camp in Zionsville, IN. We host a number of our events there and it is home to our regional office.

HUC - Hebrew Union College – The rabbinical seminary of the Reform movement in the United States. If you have a rabbi, he or she most likely went to school here. There is a campus in Cincinnati, OH which is where we host our Study Kallah event.

KITOWV - Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio and West Virginia. The southern sub-region. It includes Evansville, IN; Cincinnati, OH; and all parts of Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky which are part of our region.

MVP - Membership Vice President (see Board Positions below).

NFTY - North American Federation of Temple Youth – the youth movement of the Reform movement. There are 19 regions, one of which is Ohio Valley.

NFTY OV - North America Federation of Temple Youth – Ohio Valley – The best region of NFTY!

OI - Ohio and Indiana – The northern sub-region of NFTY-OV. It includes all of the youth groups in Indiana which are in our region except for Evansville and synagogues which are in central and southern Ohio except for Cincinnati.

OV - Ohio Valley – Our NFTY region. It is made up of two sub-regions (OI and KITOWV) and includes youth groups from all Temples in parts of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.

RCVP - Religious and Cultural Vice President (see Board Positions below).

SAVP - Social Action Vice President (see Board Positions below).

Subs – Sub-Regionals (see Events below).

‘Tute – NFTY Institute (see Events below).

TYG - Temple Youth Group. The group of high school students at your Temple who get together for social, educational, religious, cultural, recreational and social action oriented events.

URJ - Union for Reform Judaism. The parent body of NFTY. It includes all of the synagogues which define themselves as Reform.

Board Positions

President – The person who is responsible for the work of the members of the board. He or she supervises the other members of the board, calls and presides over all board meetings, correspond with the region’s TYGs and when necessary, appoints chair people and committees.

Educational & Programming Vice President (ePVP) - The person who serves as a resource for programming in the region and who is responsible for programming during regional events. He or she also communicates with TYG ePVPS in the region, maintains and makes available a program bank, teaches the region about the NFTY Study theme and plans Study Kallah.

Social Action Vice President (SAVP) – The person responsible for coordinating social action in the region. He or she also corresponds with the TYG SAVPs and publicizes social action projects in the region.

Religious and Cultural Vice President (RCVP) – The person who is responsible, either directly or indirectly, for all worship services at Regional events. He or she also corresponds with and serves as a resource for TYG RCVPs, makes and maintains a file of worship services and materials, opens meetings with a reading or prayer and plans Study Kallah.

Journalist – The person who records the minutes at all meetings, maintains or creates the NFTY-OV slide show, creates and distributes the Shemesh and serves as a resource for all TYG Journalists.

Treasurer – The person who is responsible for maintaining the Regional budget, collecting regional dues, compiling a members list, purchasing OV Gear and fundraising. He or she also serves as a resource for all TYG Treasurers.

KITOWV Membership Vice President (South MVP) – The person who serves as a resource person and programming advisor to the youth group hosting a KITOWV sub-regional conclave. He or she also promotes participation in NFTY programs, coordinates caravans, promotes general spirit in the KITOWV sub-region and NFTY-OV, recruits for OV, serves as a resource for all TYG MVPs and serves as the executive board liaison to all TYGs in the region.

OI Membership Vice President (North MVP) - The person who serves as a resource person and programming advisor to the youth group hosting an OI sub-regional conclave. He or she also promotes participation in NFTY programs, coordinates caravans, promotes general spirit in the KITOWV sub-region and NFTY-OV, recruits for OV, serves as a resource for all TYG MVPs and serves as the executive board liaison to all TYGs in the region.

Regional Board – The eight individuals from our region who are elected by the members of the region each spring to serve in the eight positions described above.

TYG Board– The group at each Temple who are elected to serve in position like or similar to those described above.

EVENTS

NFTY Institute (‘Tute) - Our first event of the year which is held at GUCI in Zionsville, IN. It is a five day event planned by the regional boards of NFTY- Ohio Valley and NFTY – Missouri Valley (our sister region). Programming for the event revolves around the theme which is selected at the beginning of each summer and takes advantage of the camp facility and staff.

Leaderships – This event, usually held in September, is the event planned by the Regional Board during which TYG board members are trained to do their jobs. It is a weekend event held at GUCI.

Sub-Regionals – Local synagogues from each sub-region (KITOWV and OI) host a sub-regional event sometime during the Fall. The events, which are planned by local TYGs are weekend events which incorporate social, educational, religious, recreational and social action oriented programs. These events are great introductions to the region as they tend to be smaller and more intimate.

More coming soon…