Business Education and Training

Having established himself with numerous business ventures, Lee Greif became a dedicated civil servant, donating his time and money to numerous charitable causes. Altogether, he was a member of a board of directors, Vice President of a congregation, engaged in fundraising, and performed much volunteer work.

His earliest volunteer work consisted of his serving as Vice President of the congregation of Temple B’Nai Jehudah, which happens to be the largest Jewish temple in Kansas City. His hours of service to this institution include: cash management, developing an equitable dues schedule, and leading a huge fundraising campaign to raise money for the Temple’s endowment and new location. His service to this congregation also included serving in various committees. He served as chairman of the site selection committee for the new Temple location, the new Rabbi Selection committee, and many others which were crucial to the function of the congregation.

Greif also was Vice Chairman of the Campus Board of Directors and served on two committees for the Jewish Community Campus, an agency that deals with Jewish social services agencies and offers charity to Jewish families and children in the area when they are in need of help. Greif’s work with these committees helped to raise over 10 million dollars for this wonderful organization. He served on these committees over a period of six years. Another institution to which he donated his time was the Jewish Federation of Kansas City, another organization that donates money to social welfare programs for the Jewish community. Here he engaged in many fundraising activities and was a major contributor as well. He was also a director of this organization and sat on a budget committee which determined how the collected money should be distributed.

Mr. Greif also served as a volunteer member of a board of directors, officer/secretary, and a member of the executive committee for KCPT Public Television, a local television station. He also served on various committees for the organization which included the educational resources committee, which dealt in children’s programming, and a special committee of the board which dealt with the station’s entrepreneur programs. His volunteer work also included Health Midwest, a group of 13 not-for-profit hospitals in the Kansas City area. Not only did he serve as director of this company, but served on its executive committee which was responsible for setting the policies of its numerous hospitals. He also reviewed the operations of the hospitals while he served on the organization finance committee.

The length of Mr. Greif’s volunteer record is long, and expansive. Mr. Grief has given his time to both fundraise and volunteer for multiple companies, foundations, charities, and services. Through his help, Mr. Greif has managed to touch the lives of multiple people, helping all walks of life. Grief does have an affinity for his religion, and has volunteered, and helped fundraise, for many Jewish companies, businesses, foundations and charities.

Temple B’Nai Jehudah is the temple that Mr. Greif has served for and attends. While he has been a member of the Board of Directors, he has also served as the Vice President of the Congregation, helping nearly 1800 families. Mr. Greif has not only helped the Temple fundraise, but has helped in numerous committees. Mr. Greif has also continued his work with the Jewish community, as he served on two committees during a six year period for the Jewish Community Campus. In this time, he has helped raise $10 million for the actual campus to be built as the Vice Chairman of the Campus Board of Directors. Through his help with the Jewish Federation of Kansas City, Mr. Greif has chaired a budget committee and has donated both time and money for the fundraising efforts of the organization.

Channel 19, the local public television station, has also felt the width and breadth of Mr. Greif’s volunteering through his volunteer work with the station. Greif served on the Board of Directors, as an Officer of the Corporation as the Secretary, and a member of the Executive Committee. He served on multiple committees, helping to develop children’s programming and entrepreneurial programs for the station itself, and once again leant his time and money for fundraising for the organization.

Mr. Greif dedicated 22 years to servivce on the Board of the Local 435 bed Jewish Hospital. He was elected as its’ Chairman in 1992 and was gredited with not only saving the hospital from financial disaster,by finding it a merger partner, but being a major factor in building a new campus for the institution in Overland Park, Kansas

The Learning Exchange of Greater Kansas City has also felt the volunteer work of Mr. Greif; Mr. Greif served as a chairman for the organization during the early stages of its development. The organization has developed programs to benefit children in multiple school districts. Being an active director for an organization is nothing new for Mr. Greif, as he was also a director for the Center for Management Assistance, an organization based on providing management assistance for non-profit organizations.

Mr. Greif often works to help organizations that donate money, and those organizations that need fund raising help. The Jewish Community Foundation has Mr. Greif as a Vice Chairmen and Member of the Board for 22 years. The organization gives away approximately $2 million a year, and Mr. Grief served as a Chairman of its Investment Committee, offering his help as a financial advisor.

Mr. Grief is well known in the medical community of Kansas City, Missouri, due to his volunteer work. Grief volunteered countless hours as he served on the Board of Directors of the Menorah Medical Center for over 17 years. Menorah Medical Center was a 430 bed hospital that found itself in some trouble. Grief served as the Chairman of the board for Menorah Medical Center for two years, starting in 1992. When Mr. Grief was elected to the position, the hospital was running into some financial trouble. The hospital lost $10 million dollars during the five years leading up to the beginning of grief’s tenure as Chairman of the board.

Mr. Grief also served as the first chairman of the Jewish Heritage Foundation. Mr. Grief continues to serve on the board; the foundation has been incredibly successful, and in the last year, handed grants to around 100 local charities in the Kansas City Area. What really is astonishing about all of Mr. Grief’s volunteer work, however, is what he managed to do as chairman of the board.

Mr. Greif managed to attract a bid from a public company with deep pockets. Columbia hospital system. This prompted a bidding war broke out in the already competitive market in the Kansas City area.

. Both Health Midwest and St. Luke’s Health System offered bids that asked them to consider joining their own system. This was a bright spot for Mr. Grief and the board, as they were looking to be able to keep a Jewish heritage type of hospital in the area.

Many saw the bids by both Health Midwest and St. Luke’s as an attempt to keep Columbia out of the market in the Kansas City area. Eventually, Health Midwest won the deal. The 430 room hospital was to be merged and closed, and a new 200 bed hospital was to be built on another Menorah Campus.

Kansas City, Missouri was not necessarily known as a competitive market in the hospital and medical field. Once news broke out of the intentions of Menorah Medical Center, however, that all began to change. Menorah Medical Center was a 430 bed hospital that had found itself in a bit of a financial bind. In 1992, Mr. Grief was elected to serve as the Chairman of the Board in broad attempt to help, or sell, the hospital. In the five years previous to Mr. Grief’s service, the hospital had lost $10 million. This loss needed to be stopped; Mr. Grief, who has served on the Board of Directors for the Menorah Medical Center for 17 years, assumed the position in order to attempt to help the hospital.

The Menorah Medical Center was losing money at a rate of approximately $2 million a year. The hospital wanted to continue, as it was known in the community for being the Jewish hospital, for those who wanted a hospital in line with their faith.

Once the public and industry became aware of Menorah Medical Center’s willingness to seek a partner, the bids began to come in. The goal of the hospital was to approach other companies in the medical and hospital field to attempt to sell or merge the hospital. While they did go out and request some bids, there were some bids that came in from those companies who had not been contacted. Columbia, a known powerhouse in the medical field, lacking a stake in the Kansas City Market, was one of those companies. When Columbia made their unexpected and unprovoked bid, the bidding war began to take shape.

. Health Midwest, a company that already had a stake in the market, came in and captured the winning bid; while buying the hospital, they would merge with the Menorah Medical Center to open op a new Jewish center on the other Menorah Campus. This 200 bed hospital would be built as the old 430 bed hospital was slowly taken out of commission.

Through the sale of the Hospital, the Jewish Heritage Foundation was created. A portion of this money came from the sale, and Mr. Grief was the first chair men of the board. The board hands out grants to charities, and recently handed out over 100 grants to local charities in the last year. The foundation has been considered a success, helping the community in multiple ways. This was partially thanks to Mr. Grief’s volunteer work and his impressive work as Chairman of the board.