Fraternity-Testvériség, 1993 (71. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1993-01-01 / 1. szám
FRATERNITY Page 3 PRESIDENT’S CORNER Last September a great honor was bestowed upon me when the Convention of 1992 elected me as President of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. It has been more than 61 years that a layman was elected as President of our society. I accept this challenge not merely to consume the bounty of today but to invest it in a greater tomorrow. Since this is the first time that I am addressing you in my capacity as President, I would like to comment on some of the challenges and opportunities that face the Federation. As you know, these are not ordinary times for the insurance industry, and the tasks that have been assigned to me by the Convention demand full attention. I believe that you as members of the Federation call on the leadership of this society to focus, unite and act in order to address membership decline, reinvigorate our branch life, foster our fraternal activities in our communities and increase insurance business. Our organization needs a new direction. I believe we will find this new direction with the help of the basic old values that our forefathers laid down for us in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1896, when they made a commitment to assist the destitute and stricken families, widows and orphans of miners and factory workers who met death at their work. Although over the years our society evolved into a life insurance organization, our true character is still fraternal in spirit and action. The conditions, which brought us, and many other fraternal societies, to the point we are today, are well- known, namely two decades of declining membership, low productivity of agents, poor training and an aged field forced believe we can turn our society around in the next four years. The new leadership that you elected has the vision, the will and the heart to make the changes that have to be done. I am confident that we will enter the second century of the HRFA with a higher membership and a stronger financial standing than we are presently encountering. Allow me to report on two important issues that have taken place since the Convention of September 1992: 1) Our Canadian operation was transferred to Toronto Mutual Life Insurance Company on December 31, 1992. The final number of policies that we transferred was 235. After fulfilling our obligations, liabilities and expenses, the Federation was able to transfer back to the USA the remainder of our Canadian assets. 2) We have received the good news from our defense lawyer, Terry Miller, Esq., affirming the dismissal of plaintiffs’-appellants’ Stephen Szilagyi, et.al. action against defendants-appellees Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. The case can now be considered as closed. At the same time, I directed our legal counselor to start taking the necessary steps to recover our defense costs from our reinsurance carrier. I wish to extend my best wishes and heartfelt appreciation to Reverend Imre Bertalan, past president, William B. Puskas, past treasurer, and Rt.Rev. Dezső Abraham, past vice president on the board. May they enjoy their retirement and continue contributing in their own special way to our society. I extend my appreciation also to my fellow directors who will no longer be serving on the board. I warmly welcome my new fellow officers: Suzanne S. Virgulák, Treasurer, and Endre Csornán, Secretary. In the same spirit, I welcome the Vice Presidents on the Board: László Lipoczky; John K. Morey, and Rev. Nicholas Novak. Directors: New Jersey & E. Pennsylvania District: William Puskas, Jr. and Albert St. Miklosy. St. George District: Michael Pauli, Jr. Pennsylvania & W. Virginia District: Clara V. Csikesz and Rev. Alexander Jalso. New York & Connecticut District: Elvira Petry. Chicago, Illinois District: Joseph Kovács. Ohio District: J. Edward Bihary and Rt.Rev. Zoltán Szucs. I wish to thank the members of the Field Force for their service to the Federation and the members entrusted to their care. To you the members of our society I wish to express my appreciation for your loyalty and faithful membership throughout the years. May God bless you all and may God bless the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. George Dózsa
