Fraternity-Testvériség, 1993 (71. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1993-04-01 / 2. szám
FRATERNITY Page 3 PRESIDENT’S CORNER During the late 1970s and early 1980s, fraternal life insurance societies compared the fraternal life insurance business with a rowboat sailing along the "Fraternal River." The story line was that the rowboat had two oars. In one lock of the rowboat was the oar which represented fraternal activities, while in the other lock was the oar which represented sales activities. In order to prevent the boat from going in circles, both oars had to be pulled equally hard. In the late 1980s, most of the fraternal life insurance societies realized that it was very hard to synchronize the "oars" and that a trolling motor had to replace them. In practice, this meant that the sales and fraternal activities were to be given equal importance. The Federation should follow suit and try to mold the selling and fraternal activities into one in order to be able to push the "rowboat toward progress along the Fraternal River." Where should we start? We should start with our Board of Directors and elected officers of our branches, including branch managers. At its Spring Meeting, the Board of Directors approved a recommendation of the Executive Committee that a Field Force Committee be re-established in order to find ways to revitalize the field. The Committee, at its first meeting in May, laid the groundwork for training and rejuvenating our field force. The Board of Directors also approved the formation of a new committee called, "The National Fraternal Coordinating Committee." This Committee will meet in July in Ligonier, Pa. to plan fraternal activities in each district in the coming year. The HRFA as a fraternal benefit society should commit itself to the social, economic, moral, physical, and intellectual well-being of its members and their families. Therefore, in the coming years a growth in membership, through quality insurance and fraternal activities and services provided within the scope of its stated mission, should be the primary goal and dominant strategy. FRATERNALS - A Family Affair Family involvement in fraternal activities is a key ingredient for the success of any fraternal society. The question can be raised rightfully, "Do we have activities that involve the whole family?" If we expect our branches and the Federation to thrive and grow in the coming years, then we must involve all generations of a family in our activities. Our young people can learn about our fraternal society if they participate in and at least attend various branch activities. Through these activities, they become conscious of the importance and meaning of our fraternal society and help maintain and preserve our customs and heritage. We have to promote interesting programs for our members in all localities. All our branches should cooperate with churches and civic organizations to carry out the programs that we feel should be undertaken not only for our members but for the members of the community. Our branches should be able to help retiring members by providing information on Social Security, Medicare, etc. and inform the members of community service activities. We have to remind ourselves constantly that if we intend to enroll new members into the Federation, we must have programs which are attractive and useful to the prospect. We must involve our young members so that they can become future leaders and active builders of our society. Our future leaders should come from the ranks of our young members. Therefore, let us try to involve the young generation in our fraternal activities which will serve as the training ground for future leaders of the Federation. George Dózsa
