Verhovayak Lapja, 1949 (32. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1949 / Verhovay Journal
PAGE 4_________________________________ Verhovay Verhovay Journal Jómmal of the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Ass’n. OFFICE OF PUBLICATION 79®7 West Jefferson Ave. Detroit 17, Mich, PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association Managing Editor: JOHN BENCZE Editor: JOHN SABO Editor’s Office: 436—142 FOURTH AVENUE PITTSBURGH 19, PA. Telephone: COurt 3454 or 3455 All articles and changes of address should be sent to the VERHOVAY FRATERNAL INSURANCE ASSOCIATION 436—442 FOURTH AVENUE PITTSBURGH 19, PA. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: United States and Canada .......................................... $1.00 a year Foreign Countries ............................................. $1.50 a year Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at Detroit, Michigan under the Act of March, 3, 1879. OFFICIAL COMMENT HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED In 1924 an individual joined the Association without asking questions. It did not matter to him that he had to pay an initiation fee of three dollars, a policy fee of fifty cents, a By- Laws fee of thirty-five cents, and a miscellaneous fee of ten cents. Nor did it matter that he had to pay the medical examination fee. He was content with the fact that his neighbor was a member because, he felt? if Verhovay was good enough for his neighbor, then Verhovay was good enough for him, too. Back in those days the members of the organization felt it their duty to bring more and more individuals into the Association. They knew that the Association belonged to the members and, therefore, they wanted to protect their own interests. They worked hard without being paid for their services. If their knowledge of insurance was something which was lacking their sincerity of purpose made up for this lack of knowledge. They were able to persuade friends to become members even with the financial obstacles mentioned above. This was their organization and they felt it their duty to keep the Association growing larger and stronger. A QUARTER OF A CENTURY LATER In 1949, however, we find a vastly changed picture. We cannot secure members by relying on the former “what’s good for my neighbor, is good enough for me” policy. Even with the elimination of the extra initiation fees, the medical examination fees and other special fees, we find that the former “good neighbor” policy does not exist any more. We find also that the majority of the members no longer wish to perform duties unless they are paid for their services. They believe they were relieved of all duties and responsibilities when the Association adopted the full-time and part-time branch manager system. Such beliefs do us great harm because no system will succeed unless it has the support and cooperation of the general membership. Since the lack of support and cooperation arises chiefly from pecuniary causes, we must inform our membership that the Association has only a limited sum of money for expenses incurred in connection with the acquisition of new members. Much as we would like to compensate each and every member for any services performed in this connection, we find it impossible to do so. The men now representing the Association in the field must be good insurance representatives, they must know the fundamentals of life insurance, they must be able to counsel the prospect on a sound insurance program, they must be. good insurance salesmen. And to have such representatives, we must seek intelligent men who can be trained so as to enable them to provide the best possible service for our members. All this, of course, is expensive; the money comes from the limited funds mentioned previously. Furthermore, these men have chosen this- work as a means of providing'a livelihood for themselves and their families. These are the men, therefore, who must be paid for their productive efforts. They have qualified to carry on for all of us; our Association will continue to grow through their productive efforts. Journal November 16, 1949 REPORT OF THE AUDITING COMMITTEE — Certificate of Audit — We have audited the books and accounts of the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association for the six months beginning January 1, 1949 and ending June 30, 1949, and We Certify to the correctness of the financial schedules for the above-mentioned period as shown in and published in the August 17, 1949 issue of the Verhovay Journal. The scope of the work undertaken in connection with the above-listed period of operations included the following: An examination of all income accounts consisting of receipts from Verhovay Branches, real estate and mortgage interest, bond interest, dividend on stocks, loan and bank interest, profit on bonds sold. Trust deposits. Handling charges, Home Office Building and other minor miscellaneous income. All of the above income items were verified as having been received, and traced back into the various ledgers and journals. The Bank statements were reconciled for the period under examination and the Petty Cash Fund verified. The security holdings of our Association were examined in the vaults of the Mellon National Bank and Trust Company, and verified. The examination of these securities showed that as of June 30, 1949. there was a total book value of $2,103,282.50 in United States Government Bonds, $61,394.03 in Industrial Bonds, $1,292,098.83 in State and Municipal Bonds. $741.211.65 in Railroad Bonds, $87,453.60 in Railroad Equipment Trust Certificates and $5,145,277.54 in Public Utilities Bonds for a* grand total of $9.430,718.15 in our investment portfolio. It can be stated that the portfolio is in excellent condition. It was further ascertained from our examination that all bond coupons were promptly presented for collection when due, and that all monies thus obtained along with those funds obtained from the sale of securities were; accurately credited to our account. A careful, detailed analysis of all monies disbursed by the Association was made for the six months under study. It covered such items as death benefit claims, cash surrenders, medical examinations, salaries, commissions, maiming benefit claims,. Home Office Building, Official Publication, travelling expenses, and all other payments made and listed under the disbursement heading, and included in the totals of the‘ Semi-Annual Statement. All vouchers and supporting papers for each payment were carefully examined, and all payments were found to have been made according to the dictates of the by-laws of our Association. And through the above examinations, it was definitely ascertained that the official data as published by the Home Office in the official journal of our Association from month to month gave a true and correct picture of the financial condition of the Association. The Auditing Committee also conducted a thorough examination of the accounts of the Verhovay National Bowling Tournament held in Detroit, Michigan, May 29, 30th, 1949, and found, them correct. It noted, however, the laxness on the part of many branch managers in returning books sent them for disposal. This attitude of non-cooperation created considerable correspondence and difficulty in the final accounting. A request is herein made for the full cooperation of all Branch Managers in the forthcoming Bowling Tournament to be held in Youngstown, Ohio. The Statement of Assets as of the first auditing period of 1949. i.e., January 1 to June 30, 1949, is as follows: Period Assets June 30, 1949 $10,419,753.71 Dec. 31, 1948 $ 9,948,683.11 Net Increase $ 471,070.60 Our examination commenced on October 3rd, 1949 and was completed on October 15th. 1949. THE AUDITING COMMITTEE: ALEX NYIRATI GASPAR PAPP WILLIAM C. KOHUT SUPPORT, COOPERATION STILL NECESSARY However, their success, and the Association’s success, will depend on the support and cooperation offered to them by the general membership. If the membership will cooperate with our representatives, we shall go forward, we shall keep the cost of business from rising, we shall do our duty. Let us resolve today that we shall start working for our Association without delay and that we shall carry on in the interests of our organization in the same spirit as was exercised by the members in the earlier years.
