Fraternity-Testvériség, 1972 (50. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1972-07-01 / 7-9. szám
SECRETARY’S REPORT For the years of 1968- 1969 -1970 -1971 Mr. President, Members of the Board of Directors: By the grace of God, I was elected Secretary of the Federation for a four-year term by the delegates of the 1968 Convention. I started my work on September 1, 1968. This is my first Convention report as Secretary. It is a privilege to report to the delegates of our 1972 Convention about my work during the past four years. I always considered my work as teamwork. All persons connected with my department should identify themselves as members of a fraternal team. Our aim is to work and serve the interests of the Federation wholeheartedly and with distinguished dedication. As a person with a ministerial background, I am an idealist. I endeavored to maintain my idealism in our fraternal work. I appealed to the best inner qualities of the members of my team. However, as Secretary I realize that I must be a realist also. Being in charge of the organizational structure and production of the Federation, the very foundation and lifeline of the Federation depend upon the success of my work and the performance of my team. I must be constantly alert and watch how the members of my team work and serve. It is my duty to inspire them as we set new goals; to comfort and encourage them when they are downhearted; to awaken them when they are hibernating; and to remind them that the Federation is interested in the quantity, as well as in the quality of their production. After being pastor in the Hungarian Reformed Church for 33 years, it was not easy to change positions. Whenever I went to visit my members in the hospitals, I always made it my business to visit all the Hungarians in the hospitals regardless to their creed or religious background. Before departing, I emphasized that my visit was purely one Hungarian visiting a fellow Hungarian brother or sister. On my team, in all levels of positions I have first and second generation members belonging to the Reformed faith and members affiliated with the Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic and Lutheran churches. This ecumenical spirit is practiced on the highest level of our organizational structure. It is a privilege to extend my warmest welcome to the Reformed, Catholic and Lutheran delegates of our 1972 Convention. I wish to emphasize that neither in the Bethlen Home, nor in the Federation do we practice or even tolerate racial or religious discrimination. The Catholic and Lutheran members of my team can testify and be witnesses to this fact. When we read from the official reports that the Federation has almost $50 million in insurance in force and its assets at the time we are holding this Convention is over $17 million, we must admit that the Federation in both its promotional work and assets has become big business. Sharing the responsibility of its constant growth requires not only dedication but professional knowledge as well. No amateur can hold the respect of his Field Force members and be accepted as their leader unless he himself becomes a professional specialist in the highly competitive insurance business. I applied my knowledge to make my department more efficient in services; to make our Field Force members realize the importance of quality production; to keep a high standard of morale among our District and Section Managers, and to improve the image of our Federation in the areas of our operation. The Federation’s 75th anniversary celebrations in 1971 were held at Chicago, Cleveland, Ligonier, Los Angeles, New Brunswick, New York City, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Washington. Committees were organized by our local Board of Directors inviting the local Field Force members, branch managers, clergy and community civic leaders to assure the success of the programs and banquets by their participation. The fellowship halls were packed to capacity in most cases. I consider the anniversary celebrations a success because they challenged us to work together for a common goal close to our hearts. They offered us an opportunity to dedicate our unselfish services, to strengthen the ties of real and true fraternal spirit. They gave us the privilege to have the Federation leaders, full and part- time workers and the clergy share fraternal fellowship with our members regardless to their race, national background or religious affiliation. They were truly ecumenical gatherings because we had the honor to welcome the presence of the local Lutheran, Roman and Greek Catholic pastors as our distinguished guests. Many awards were given to senior members and leaders in recognition of their services for the Federation by President Beky. I. ADMINISTRATION 1. 1968 Convention The Twenty-Eighth Convention was held from June 24 through June 27 in 1968 at the Bethlen Home and Holiday Inn, Ligonier, Pennsylvania. The Convention was constituted of 16 members of the Board of Directors and 51 Branch delegates. Recording Secretaries: Rev. Dr. Andrew Harsanyi and Rev. Joseph Marsalko. Advisory Members with right of voice but no vote: the Rt. Rev. Alexander Daroczy, Superintendent of the Bethlen Home, Alex B. Eger, Jr., Legal Counsellor, Dr. Frank S. Horvath, Medical Director, Max Blum, Accountant, Jerry Wizon, Accountant. The By-Laws as amended and revised by the Convention were sent to the states of our operation. 2. State and Provincial Licenses The 1968-1971 Annual Statements and all other documents requested by the states and the Canadian provinces in which the Federation operates were prepared by our Certified Public Accountant and our C.P.S. Actuary. The applications with the requested enclosures were mailed in time for the licenses to the states and the Canadian provinces. Licenses were received annually for our operation. 3. Board of Directors a) In the 1968-1971 period regular and special meetings were held in accordance with our By-Laws. b) The Rt. Rev. George E. K. Borshy, Vice-President, died on January 24, 1971. The Board of Directors elected Rev. Tibor Toth Vice-President and his alternate Mr. Charles Kiss as Board member. 4. Executive Committee During the 1968-1971 period 199 Executive and Investment Committee meetings were held. Mr. Paul St. Miklossy, Recording Secretary, took the minutes of all the meetings. 19
