Fraternity-Testvériség, 1982 (60. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1982-10-01 / 4. szám
FROM THE PRESIDENT: CONSOLIDATION FAILS TO RECEIVE SUPPORT At the Special Convention of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, held in Pittsburgh on the 27th of November, the proposed consolidation with the William Penn Association failed to receive the necessary two-thirds vote! For the purpose of up-dating our readers: In the minutes of of the 1980 Convention is recorded the following: “The resolution of the William Penn Association with respect to consolidation of the Federation and the William Penn Association was read. After discussion on the motion, it was resolved by a vote of 34 in favor, 24 against. There were 3 abstentions. It was further resolved that: a. the President appoint a committee to serve as fact-finders, b. Upon completion of said investigation and fact-finding, said committee shall report to the Board of Directors. c. The report and findings of the committee, together with the recommendations of the Board of Directors, shall be forwarded to delegates of the Thirty-First Quadrennial Convention of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America.” The fact-finding committee had several meetings with legal and financial advisors. It was generally agreed that both societies are financially sound and consolidation is not necessitated by financial difficulties but rather in order to render greater faternál services. By combining our assets, our administrative abilities, by elimination of duplication of technical functions and marketing competition, and living under one roof, more funds would be provided to carry out more fraternal services! The fact-finding committee reported to the spring 1981 meeting of the Board of Directors that the isssue of consolidation should be continued. The Board appointed a Consolidation Committee. This committee met with a similar one from the William Penn Association and gave progress reports to our Board and to combined Board meetings. The result of their work is the first document released, the Consolidation Agreement which was accepted by both Boards in December, 1981. The next task was the By-Laws. Again several meetings of committee, of Board, resulted in the By-Laws. At the spring 1982 Board meeting, the By-Laws were rejected by our Board. During the months following, upon the urging of delegates and members, the Board agreed to place the re-consideration of the By-Laws on the agenda of the September Board meeting. Thus the spring Board resolution was rescinded; the By-Laws were accepted upon clarification and the date for the special convention was set. In a nutshell, that was the work of IY2 years. Plans were progressing for the Special Convention, the documents were mailed to each delegate in ample time for study. Then, on November 13, two weeks before the designated Special Convention, the William Penn Board came with the following resolution: “It was Resolved by the Board in regular quarterly meeting assembled that, WHEREAS, Directors and Officers have received many reports from our delegates, members and agents strenously objecting to the Consolidation By-Laws provision changing the name of the society and requesting the Board to reconsider the matter since approval of the whole agreement will be in jeopardy. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD after serious consideration and debate, that the Board believes that the best interest of our membership and that of the Consolidated Society will be served by retaining the name William Penn Association, that the Officers of the two societies meet forthwith to review and discuss this issue and communicate the Federation response to the Board. A roll call vote was requested.” There were 16 votes in the affirmative, one negative vote. The resolution reached the Home Office on Wednesday, November 17. Since the officers would need approval for such a consideration from the Board of Directors, a special meeting was held on Sunday, November 21st at 4 p. m. at the Pittsburgh Airport. The consensus of the Board was that under no circumstance 4
