Verhovayak Lapja, 1944 (27. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1944 / Verhovay Journal
December 13, 1944 "Honored" Stephen Lang Honored by all Bethlehem Verhovay Journal. Page 1 Rejected Applications ... The Board of Directors, at its regular fall-meeting, voted to award the “Honored” title with the Verhovay scroll and medal to Stephen Lang, Manager of Br. 98, Bethlehem, Pa., in recognition of his more than 15 years of meritorious service in the manage ment of his branch. The membership of Branch 98 received the decision of the Board with great satisfaction and arranged for a testimonial banquet in honor of the beloved manager which was held on November 26, 1944, Sunday evening, in the Hungarian Hall, in Bethlehem, Pa. Joseph Turner, Director, manager of Branch 108, of Youngstown, O., was delegated by the Supreme President to represent the Board of Directors on this occasion. AN HONORED MAN It appears that Stephen Lang is honored not only by the Verhovay family but also by his community. From far and near American Hungarians came to pay tribute to the man who has served faithfully not only the Verhovay F. I. Association, but all his fellowmen, no matter to which group they belonged. More than 400 guests turned out to the honor of Stephen Lang, a true fraternalist if there ever was one. Perhaps there was not one church or organization in Bethlehem that was not represented at this occasion. Branch 216, Northampton, Pa., was represented by an imposing delegation of 20 Verhovayans, while Branch 90, Allentown, Pa., sent 15 delegates. Catholic and Protestant churches, fraternalists, members of the IWO, all hastened to attend the celebration which thus became a manifestation of the unfying action of fraternalism. THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES Mr. Peter Toth, President of Branch 98, greeted the host of guests and then called upon the Rev. Dr. Ernest A. Stiegler, pastor of the Wendish-Hungarian Lutheran Church of Bethlehem, and President of the American Hungarian Lutheran Conference, to assume the duties of Master of Ceremonies. Dr. Stiegler, in his opening iddress, explained that it was he fraternal spirit, alive within he ■ membership of Branch 98, hat induced him to accept this issignment for the third time in his Branch. He emphasized the lecessity of honoring our leaders vho, especially in fraternal life, nake such a great contribution to he welfare of their fellow-men. He called upon the Rev. Father oseph Reseterics, pastor of the ,ang family, who spoke of the jyalty of Stephen Lang to his .ssociation, to his community nd to his church. For more than 5 years—he said—this man acrificed all his free time to :rve his fellow-men and won the .teem of all who know him. He so paid tribute to the family : Stephen Lang, his wife and his >ns and daughters, with whom B lives in exemplary harmony. Rev. Ormay, Rev. Parragh, Rev. illy, pastors of various churches, idressed the audience in similar ;in. Mr. Pottschacher spoke in half of the Hungarian laniage press. AS MANAGER TO MANAGER. Then Mr. Turner sppke, as a manager to a fellow-manager. Director Turner and Mr. Lang have much in common. Both are managers who have served their resp. branches for many more than 15 years. Both have been awarded the “Honored” title. Both have dedicated their life to the fraternal ideal and both have seen their Branches grow under their influence. It was therefore not difficult, for Director Turner to speak to the heart of Mr. Lang, and to make the audience realize what price a manager of many years’ standing has to pay for the honor bestowed upon him on such an occasion. FELLOW-OFFICERS PAY TRIBUTE. The officers of Branch 98, Peter Toth, president, Charles Simon, vice-president, William Richter, comptroller, and Julius Demko, auditor, expressed their sincere appreciation of the excellent leadership and harmonious cooperation offered by manager Stephen Lang. Frank Cher, District Manager of New York, and Joseph Subits, District Manager of Northampton, also spoke gratefully of the cooperation received by them from Stepthen Lang. One by one the representatives of the various organizations rose and paid tribute to the man who has acted as a shining beacon of fraternalism in Bethlehem and vicinity. FOUR HUNDRED STAND. At last, Stephen Lang arose to speak. And then, the entire audience stood and applauded the man who for 15 years had provided them with leadership, inspiration and example. Deeply moved, Mr. Lang thanked for the honor bestowed upon him. Looking back upon the 15 years of his managership, he stated that he found many thorns, but also many roses that comforted him in times of passing discouragement. He pledged himself to continued loyalty in the service of his country, of his fellow-men and of his Association. He thanked the committee which arranged for this banquet and the ladies who prepared an excellent meal. A1 Vig’s orchestra provided the music during the banquet and the dance that followed. PROUD OF THEIR FATHER. Usually it is the father who is proud of his children, and his happiness over their • achievements is appreciated by all. Mr. Lang, too, has every reason to be proud of his ' wife and their children. One of his sons serves in the Navy, but on this day he was permitted to be present, to make the family circle complete. One of his daughters prepared for her wedding which took place the following Saturday. What we are getting at, however, is this: children, too, are proud of their parents’ achievements and they are deeply happy when they have cause to look up to them. The sons and daughters of Stephen Lang had such a “Increase” is the goal of every life-insurance organization. “Increase” is the bread and butter for every life-insuranse salesman. It is the word that is always held before him, the idea that obsesses him, that fills his thoughts and even persecutes him in his dreams. The future of every life-insurance organization depends on the volume of increase achieved month by month and year by year. Aside from the prevention of lapses, increase is the' result of securing new policyholders, or, in the case of fraternal organizations, new members. One of the main tasks of life-insurance organizations is to educate its agents or solicitors in the art of retaining members and securing new ones. To encourage them in their task of soliciting new members, campaigns and drives are launched, enforced by variously appealing prizes to be won by the successful contestants. Every member of the fraternal organization has the duty to be on the look-out for prospects. But the main responsibility of this task falls upon the shoulders of the branch-managers, local organizers and district managers. These men and women can be put into three classes. The outstanding managers, local organizers and district managers are those, who, whether or not there is a particular drive on maintain an even level of production. To the second group belong those who canvass for new members only when there is a drive on, and, as a result, their .production is irregular, spasmodic. The third group consists of managers, who do not produce anything unless a prospect approaches them with the request to make out an application for them. Even the members of this third group are persistently prodded towards improvement. Naturally, when there is such a great pressure exerted in behalf of increasing the membership, every application blank is joyfully noted. Every application represents an effort by the organizer and a promise for increase. In view of this fact, it seems rather strange to many, when, after an application has been secured, it is turned down by the Association. “Why solicit new members—asks the outraged solicitor—if the Association rejects the applications?” REJECTION A DISAPPOINTMENT Suppose a solicitor called on a prospect three or four times. Suppose, he spent with him several hours until the deal was happy day on November 26th. Seaman Lang will be happy to cherish the memory of this evening in his heart through the lonely nights when his ship will sail across the Ocean, and his sister will be happy to start her married life into which she was given by a father who is truly honored by all. And the other sons and daughters surely returned to their homes strengthened in their will to be like their father: an example of kindness, of ambition, of true manhood, which had made him one of the outstanding men of our generation. closed. Suppose, it took additional effort to get him see the doctor. Suppose, finally, that it took one last effort to collect some advance dues. Supposing all this, it is more than understandable that the solicitor feels thoroughly discouraged, disappointed and disgusted, when finally he receives a notice from the Home Office to the effect that his applicant has been rejected. It is a crude shock to him for more than one reason. First of all, he spent his time for nothing.’ There is no reward for the securing of a rejected application. His hopes for a commission come to nothing. He could have spent his time more profitably, or he could have enjoyed himself instead of spending his little spare time with soliciting. He is embarrased, too, because he has to see the rejected applicant and tell him the bad news. He feels that he appears ridiculous, for all his arguments brought forth during his salesefforts have been blown to bits by the Association which he so fervently represented. The embarrassment is hightened when the rejected applicant starts asking questions. “Why did they reject me?” — he asks and the solicitor is stumped. For the Association gives no reason for the rejection, neither do insurance companies explain to their agents the reason for rejection. All he can say, is: “I don’t know.’” That, he feels, lowers him in the eyes of the customer. All in all, it is an embarrassing situation. Let us not forget, however, that the solicitor isn’t the only one disappointed. The applicant is disappointed too. He feels that the rejection casts an unfavorable reflection upon him. Often, rejected applicants get worried because they are afraid that they may have some sickness, unknown to themselves, which the medical examination revealed. They feel that it is unfair to withhold such information from them. They, too, have lost time by their lenghty interviews with the solicitor and their visit at the doctor’s office. Then, too, the Association is disappointed. Another prospect has been lost, for good. The solicitor’s time has been wasted. Even if he secures an acceptable application afterwards, the time spent on the rejected one is a loss for the Association, too, for it means slower progress. Finally, the rejection means money lost to the Association because the doctor has to be paid, the medical officer has to be paid, and the entire office ' force that has handled the rejection spends time, paper, postage etc., on the fruitless enterprise. The solicitor is the chief sufferer, but he should remember that his disappointment reverberates through the entire set-up of the organization. UNFAVORABLE ADVERTISEMENT. As often as not, the rejected applicant developes a dislike for the organization that rejected him. His dislike spreads through his family. Some of his relatives are outraged and threaten to drop their “insurance”. Others just talk. But talk is bad business for an insurance or« ganization. It should be avoided, though not at any cost, as some insist. WHY ALL THE REJECTIONS? It is hard to determine what the average rate of rejections is. Some solicitors get more rejections than others and often feel that they are discriminated against, forgetting that the organizations is as much set on producing increase as they are. Associations and companies do not have the same rate of rejections. Some companies are mors liberal than others. Some accept applicants thht others have rejected. As often as not, their policyholder manages to live long and the rejecting organization is laughed at by them. Different organizations have different rules that are always a matter of policy which is strictly adhered to. The rules atjB always adapted to medical opinions but they, too, are either liberal or conservative, pessimistic or optimistic. Fraternal Associations, as a rule, adhere to conservative opinions. But even among them we find some that are not conservative. Tha director of some fraternal association stated once that they did not reject a single application throughhout an entire year. That may have been wonderful for their agents, but it is unquestionably detrimental to the association and its membership. SELECTION OF RISKS. No insurance organization hat assurance of financial stability, continued increase of membership and persistent security which does not exercise a careful selection of risks. Every organization has strict rules per. taining to this procedure and deviation from these rules is a disciplinary offense. An organization that adopts lax rules, cannot be depended on because its mortality rate will be unduly high, and its liabilities will soon eat-up its assets. An organization that follows strict rules, will not suffer from adverse selection, and as a result, it will have a sound financial standing. WHY NOT TELL THE REASON? Most solicitors agree that it would be easier to meet the rejected applicant if they would be in position to give the reason? for rejection. They labor under the misapprehension that rejection cafl be the result only of the diagnosis of some sickness or other, arrived at by the medical examiner. That is entirely wrong. The reason for rejection is not told fa* various other reasons. The selection of risks is a very involved procedure and acceptance or rejection depends on so many factors that the average layman could not understand it even if he where told the reasons for his rejection. There would b# more misunderstandings, endless arguments, bitter feelings, yet the decision would remain the same. In the following we will attempt to explain a few factors that are involved in the selection of risks. All of them cannot be (Continued on Page 8)
