Fraternity-Testvériség, 1991 (69. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1991-01-01 / 1. szám
FRATERNITY Page 3 PRESIDENT’S CORNER I am dedicating this column to the memory of my wife, Margaret, who on February 7,1991, finished the earthly course of her life to be continued hence in our eternal home as promised by our Lord Jesus Christ. I am doing this because her life was very closely knit to all her friends — her extended family — at the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. She inherited her love for the Federation from her parents at an early age, and whatever services she performed for our society were motivated by her love for and faith in the mission of the Federation. Ours was an unusual involvement — it can be best understood as the fulfillment of our marriage vows made 42 years ago when she promised to be her husband's helpmate. She was at my side, serving the members of the congregations in Staten Island, NY; Manville, NJ; Passaic, NJ, and New Brunswick, NJ, throughout 34 years. Having completely identified herself with the life of our people in our churches, she had no reservations in continuing to work in that same spirit for the Federation. She had a genuine love for all her friends. Her spirit is a legacy she left to us, and may we all be inspired by her example. Now I would like to share with you some thoughts that were discussed at the 1991-Spring Meeting of the Board of Directors of the HRFA held in Washington, D.C. We, the members of the Board, are happy to share the good news that the financial stability of the Federation is beyond any doubt. From that point of view, our society is well and healthy. In addition, the HRFA enjoys the highest esteem in the Hungarian American community. Weakness, on the other hand, is indicated in the fluctuation in the number of certificates, which naturally involves a change in membership and dues income. However, the Federation is not the only fraternal facing this problem. On the occasion of its 104th annual meeting, the NFCA published the results of a study showing that only 11 of the 81 fraternal societies researched experienced an increase in certificates in force. Only the top eight fraternals showed a gain of 3.5%, while the remaining 73 societies showed a drop of 17.2%. Consequently, many fraternal societies experienced negative profits and drops or losses of surplus assets and even insurance in force. For us the task at hand for 1991 is to give full attention to the membership drive. If we succeed in this most important undertaking, everything else will fall into place. We have the products and fraternal benefits that meet our objectives. Throughout the years when other insurance companies were desparately searching for new products, we kept to the basics in life insurance portfolio. This is all the more relevant now when those very same insurance companies which were once looking for novelties are now going back to the basics. I believe that the reason why we survived 96 years with the strength that we have is because we remained true to the basic values upon which this organization was founded. We persisted and persevered. I also believe that one of the solutions to success lies in the active participation of national officers, board members and field force, including area managers, in selling insurance. We should all join hands to work together and also assume the responsibility assigned to each one of us. Since the trend in various states is to have representatives who have taken life insurance courses and are licensed, we have to carefully pursue the requirements for continued education in life insurance business. Ligonier of tomorrow was the subject at two important meetings in which our Federation participated in 1990. There is a general agreement that the building of the Bethlen Museum & Archives in Ligonier, PA should begin soon. The final decision will be taken this spring by all parties concerned. In the past year, we have granted mortgages to two congregations. In dollars and cents it meant an essential savings to them. The HRFA is very mindful of the inderpendence of Church and Federation. This unique relationship was firmly established in 1896 at a General Assembly of our early churches. It is in this spirit that the Board of Directors at its 1991-Spring Meeting passed a resolution to urge the Church bodies to call a General Assembly of the American Hungarian Reformed community in Ligonier, PA, in the spring of 1992. The suggested topic: "The Hungarian ReHRFA —Board of Directors Spring Meeting, 1991 (Missing front photo: Gabor Csordás)
