Verhovayak Lapja, 1947 (30. évfolyam, 1-24. szám)
1947 / Verhovay Journal
May 28, 1947 Verkovay Journal PAGE 5 700 ATTEND TESTIMONIAL DINNER GIVEN TO MGR. FRANK WUKOVITS Testimonial dinners, as a rule, are tokens of admiration and appreciation given to a man who because of his abilities and attractive qualities has been entrusted with leadership in some particular field in which he has proven himself worthy of the confidence placed in him by society. Such an occasion, therefore, affords a pretty clear picture of the man honored as well as those paying tribute to him. The quality and number of guests attending a testimonial dinner indicate the character and the scope of influence exerted by the man of the hour, but they also reflect the. ability of duly appreciating service and leadership on part of those who plan and attend the occasion. The public is generally slow in recognizing outstanding qualities. Many a devoted fraternal officer will have spent. 15-20 and even 30 years in the service of his fellow-members before it would occur to someone that it would be about time to give some sort of public recognition to him in appreciation of his contributions to the advancement of the cause to which he has dedicated the better part of his life. And even then, arrangements are made halfheartedly, the affair is poorly attended and haphazardly conducted, so much so that the person supposedly honored by the occasion feels much more humiliated than uplifted, for the affair becomes a shocking demonstration of unfriendly indifference rather than popular appreciation. That, of course, is a poor testimonial, casting sad reflections not only upon the recipient but also the givers. It was different in South Bend, Ind., where Branch 132 gave a testimonial dinner and dance in honor of Branch-Manager Frank Wukovits, director of the local Hungarian Radio Program, on Saturday, May 10th, at the Verhovay Home, 1024 W. Indiana Avenue, attended by more than 700 guests who came to pay tribute to a man whose contributions to the progress of the Verhovay won him the unanimous i esteem not only of the entire Association but also of his community. This was well demonstrated by the presence of the Mayor of the City of South Bend, members of the clergy, notable citizens and representatives of many local and out-of-town organizations. And it is a welcome proof of the rare appreciativeness of the South Bend membership that this testimonial dinner was given to Frank Wukovits in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the promotional field during the last two years. Indeed, Branch 132 was quick in expressing its approbation and that must be a source of real satisfaction and encouragement to Frank who has found the pleasure, given to-'few men, of doing his life’s work in a congenial, responsive and appreciative environment. The Banquet The Right Rev. Msgr. ' John Szabó offered grace and the National Anthem was sung, accompanied by Horvath Vili’s orchestra from Detroit. An excellent dinner prepared by the Verhovay Supreme President John Bencze, Manager and Mrs. Frank Wukovits and Branch-president Stephen Nyers at Testimonial Dinner in South Bend, Ind. Ladies’ Club was served by fifty j charming young ladies captained [ by Mrs. Stephen Domonkos, President of the Club. Following the dinner, Stephen Nyers, President of Branch 132, paid tribute to Frank Wukovits, Manager, whose outstanding achievements since his appointment as full-time Local Organizer in South Bend have won him the admiration of the entire Verhovay membership. Mr. Nyers, then, introduced Stephen Czigany, a Trustee of Branch 132, as the Master of Ceremonies. The first speaker, Hon. Mayor F. Kenneth ‘Dempsey, enumerated the contributions of the Hungarians to the development of the City of South Bend, as exemplified by Branch 132 whose beautiful Verhovay Home is an asset to the entire community. John Bencze, Supreme President, paid tribute to the builders of the Verhovay in South Bend each of whom has made valuable contributions to the progress of the Association until Frank Wukovits assumed the management of the Branch. He has done excellent work as a part-time worker but surpassed all records since he has been appointed fulltime organizer. With 162 new members to his credit in 1945 and 325 in 1946, he led all branches and cities throughout the year of Verhovay’s 60th anniversary. Verhovay’s way of acknowledging great contributions, said Mr. Bencze, is to extend brotherly love to the man making them and of this he assured Frank Wukovits who was given a tremendous demonstration of affection by the enthusiastic audience. Mr. Nyers, too, came in for the praises of our Supreme President who remembered how the President of Branch 132, then a director of the Association, pleaded and fought with the Board of Directors convincing them that his Branch will prove itself able to make a loan of $100,000 an excellent investment for the Association. And South Bend was true to this promise. A beautiful home has been built and the entire debt was wiped out in half as many years as were allowed j by the Board of Directors. And j since then, free of all indebted- j ness, Branch 132 has devoted itself to the promotion of Verhovay fraternalism by unmatched acts of generosity as well as by sustained efforts toward the advancement of the Association. Mr. Bencze warmly congratulated the officers and members of this large branch and extended his best wishes to Frank Wukovits for his continued success in the field of fraternal promotion. The Right Rev. Msgr. John Szabó extended his congratulations to the officers of the South Bend Branch asking for God’s blessings upon their future activities. Miss Buczkowski performed Hungarian dances with great success and Miss Elsie Ann Györkös rendered Hungarian songs that evoke thunderous applause. The Rev. pastor Kalabanyi, of the Hungarian Presbyterian Church and the Rev. Harold G. Kappes, pastor of the Episcopalian congregation extended warmest greetings to Manager Frank Wukovits. Vendel Lukacs, popular vocalist of South Bend, entertained the audience with several Hungarian selections andx was endlessly applauded for his magnificent renditions. # Greetings were conveyed by President Varga of Branch 37, Chicago, 111., Manager Antkon Lachman of Branch 342, Chicago, 111., Mrs. Nicholas Vendel representing Branch 164, Chicago, 111., Manager Nicholas Palla of Branch 130, East Chicago, Illinois, and Manager Joseph Szabó of Branch 443, Detroit, Mich. Following the addresses Mrs. Stephen Czigany gave several unusually successful renditions of Hungarian songs and an opera aria. As usually, the man honored Was called upon as the last speaker. But the audience had plenty of attention and even more applause left for Frank Wukovits, driving, ambitious Manager and promoter of the Verhovay. He said: “My dear friends and fellowmembers! Words cannot describe the emotions awakened in my heart by the tribute of this most illustrious assembly. I feel, however, that this great tribute is neither due nor is it given only to me. The expressions of appreciation and esteem are due, also, to the Supreme Officers as well as the local officers and every member of this Branch, who had wholeheartedly supported me at every step in our endeavour to make 132 one of Verhovay’s largest lodges in the country. I Wish to express at this time my sincere appreciation to my predecessors, fellow-officers ‘ and the national officers who had laid the foundations and built thereon for several decades enabling us, the youngest of the officers, to successfully manage and promote this great branch. I don’t want to take up much of your time BRAUCH 37 Chicago South Side Isn’t it a funny trait of human beings to side with their own, be they playing as a group in a team, or just for personal interests? Or maybe it isn’t funny at all; more, shall we say, like, all hunman beings act, so it really should be quite normal. Such is the opinion this writer formed during the Sweepstakes bowling of the Br. No. 37 bowlers, held on May 1, 1947 at Hornyak’s Alleys, here in Chicago. During the previous weeks and months of team competition everybody cheered and praised every time a mmber of their individual teams made a strike, or picked up some exceptionally hard shot. But, then, ours was the interest in boosting the team’s, total pins so as to insure winnning scores for the team as a whole. Then, on the last night of the bowling season, when we all were bowling for ourselves, the team spirit was no more! If ColcmSn Gyure got a particularly wonderful shot at, say, the 6-7-10 pins, and picked them up, there was very little if any, approbation! Why? Because all of us were bowling for indivual high scores and were trying to bowl over our averages; the one having the highest number of pins over average getting first prize of six dollars and so on down to five lesser money prizes. Oh there were some lusty cheers and applauding for most members of the teams, but they were made mostly in jest, as we were worried more about our own scors than about the others members’. Gee, what a few measly dollars can do to one’s character! The bowling tournament to be held on 30-31 May in So. Bend, Indiana will bring our two participating groups closer together as a team again and we’ll be pulling- for each and every bowler as of their individual performance were to be the absolute deciding factor in creating outstanding winning scores. I In the previous issue of the Journal it was erroneously stated in this column that eight men and two women would represent the Br. 37 bowlers. The cor-, rect figures are: our branch will j be represented by five women, noted throughout the South Side of 93rd Street as highly efficient | bowlers, plus five men, the slickest and most invulnerable pinsplitters South of Cottage Grove Avenue! There are those who would doubt these meritorious acclamations, but the facts stand as “honest injun” truths, and we’ll see at the tournament just how adept we really are! Perhaps that’s biting off more than we can chew, but better to be an óptimist than a pessimist, we believe! But in the meanwhile, aside from this mild boasting, we’ll not worry too much as to the outcome of the tournament. The idea of going out of town for a few days intrigues us all and we are looking forward to meeting new faces, who are really old friends to all, as we do belong to one great Verhovay family! So if we accomplish nothing whatsoever in bowling annals, but DO make the acquaintance of new friends we’ll fell more than amply justified for time expended in the visit. Notice that in the preeeeding paragraph the theme is of extreme confidence — and the following sentences lead up to a face-saving conclusion, just in case we’re lousy! But what’s the anyhow ? Whether we win or lose we’ll still hhve a swell time and our wish is for all to enjoy the few days we’ll be bowling together. This is being written on Thursday evening, just about the time when, last week, we were going into the second game at the Alleys. Seems sort of odd, not having to go anywhere on ‘bowling’ nite — we all got accustomed to seeing our Branch bowlers at Hornyak’s Bowling Alley at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, and now the pattern of habit is suddenly ended. We’ll just have-to suffer thru these coming' Thursdays all by our lonesomes, harking back to the days when we had such grand times together! Just to make up at least part of the in-door fun we are missing during the summer months, I think that perhaps it would not be too lowly an idea to throw in a few jokes to fill in what’s left of my two column’s space. Any similarity to persons living, dead or otherwise is purely by chance and probably isn/t meant to be derogatory! Maybe! More likely''it’s preconceived and deliberate! Here’s ohe I ^ hope you'll like: A famous outhor was (Continue on page 6) knowing that you would like to enjoy the music and dancing. I want to thank you for your friendship and appreciation, hoping that we will be granted to enjoy together the wonderful spirit of cooperation and brotherly love, so movingly demonstrated tonight, to the end of our days.” President Nyers presented in behalf of the membership of Branch 132 a beautiful suitcase to Frank1 Wukovits. A highly successful dance followed until the late (or rather early morning) hours, concluding one of the most impressive celebrations ever held by the Verhovayans in South Bend. In behalf of the great Verhovay family, the Verhovay Journal congratulates Manager Frank Wukovits and extends to him the very best wishes for continued success. And last, but not least, we wish to take this opportunity to pay special tribute to Frank’s charming, loyal and patient wife, Gladys, without whose understanding and cooperation he could not have attained the successes for which he is acclaimed by the Verhovay membership. The unselfish devotion of ai loving wife, willing to surrender her first claims to her husband’s career, is a great treasure and the main key to a man’s success. Frank has such a treasure and we feel j it is fitting that we conclude this report with an unanimous Verhovay vote of thanks to hers
