Fraternity-Testvériség, 2005 (83. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2005-07-01 / 3. szám
Page 5 Fraternity- Testvériség and her husband good luck in their new home. ❖ ❖ ❖ Our latest addition to the Home Office is a true asset. Kati Lévay-Nagy is our new Executive Assistant to the President. Well you know my name, now let me tell you a little about my background. Born in Macapo and raised in Valencia, Venezuela. Unlike the Hungarians in the capital (Caracas) who enjoyed all the benefits of a large Hungarian Kati Lévay-Nagy community, like having Hungarian churches, a Hungarian House with social activities, language classes and scouts, we in Valencia were few and usually only had one Hungarian church activity a month, not much to keep the language alive. Except that I had the one and most important asset of all in learning a language which is a Hungarian mother’s love (with lots of patience) repeating the same words every day and all day long “Gyerekek, magyarul!” (Children, in Hungarian!). Oh! How it used to bother me the constant nagging, I think everyone under 18 reading this knows what 1 mean. But then came the realization that being bilingual was not so bad and learning other languages came easier, therefore when I turned 18 I did thank my mother for the patience she had with me. From then on I have tried to improve in the knowledge of the language and be involved as much as possible with the Hungarian community. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s I was involved with the First Hungarian United Church of Christ in Miami, Florida, being the Treasurer for the Women’s Guild and a Presbyter for the church. 1 would also help out with social events at the Kossuth Club and that is where I met my husband on one occasion when he was visiting Miami and came to have lunch in the Kossuth. Besides my Hungarian activities I worked for an engineering firm while obtaining my B.S. in Civil Engineering. Started as the receptionist, moved through secretary, bookkeeping, marketing, office manager, to later transfer to their civil engineering department as a drafter and after graduation as a project engineer. From there I went to work for the Florida Department of Transportation as a project manager until my marriage to Ákos Nagy, at which time I moved to Ellicott City, MD, where I reside now. And in June of this year I was very fortunate to be offered the position as Assistant to the President of HRFA. In the little time I have been here I’ve had the privilege to know some of you personally and talked to many of you over the phone and I promise to be an asset for this wonderful Hungarian organization. ❖ ❖ ❖ Annual Meeting of the Chesapeake Fraternal Congress Frank Kapitan, manager of Branch 300, represented HRFA at the 97th Annual Meeting of the Chesapeake Fraternal Congress (CFC) on August 6, 2005 at the University of Maryland campus in College Park, MD. CFC represents fraternal organizations, like HRFA, from Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C., in the National Fraternal Congress of America. Founded in 1886, the National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA) is the leader in the fraternal benefit system. The organization provides an opportunity for each of its 76 member societies and 36 state fraternal congresses to work together to meet the challenges of a changing world. The NFCA website is at: http:// www.nfcanet.org. Among the speakers at the CFC meeting were: Carol Casperson, executive director of D.C. Habitat for Humanity, Delegate Neil Quinter, Maryland District 13, Stephen A. Brayman, Mayor, College Park, MD, and AI Vargo, from the William Penn Association, an HRFA member and past director. Frank Kapitan presented a short overview of the history and activities of HRFA. Awards were given to the Youth Volunteer and the Fraternalist of the Year. In a 50/50 Raffle, managed by AI Vargo, HRFA was one of three winners of a check for $100 each. In the Business Meeting Kati Levay and Frank Kapitan were elected directors of CFC. Frank Kapitan, Manager of Branch 300
