Verhovayak Lapja, 1951 (34. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1951 / Verhovay Journal
AUGUST 15, 1951 VOL. XXXIV. THE HON. HAROLD H. BURTON, U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE who joined the Verhovay many years ago in Cleveland, Ohio, where he started upon his career that took him to the bench of the highest Court of the United States, dedicated the above picture “with cordial regards to the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association from your fellow-member. HAROLD H. BURTON.” CONVENTION TO WEIGH ORGANIZING POLICIES By: JULIUS MACKER, VICE-PRESIDENT, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Now that I had the opportunity to study the minutes of a number of district sessions. I regret to say that the greater part of these minutes fail to deal with those problems that are of basic importance to the future of our Association. I am referring to the aims, methods and the direction of our organizing activities because surely it must be self-evident to every thinking person that organizing is the main blood vessel of the Association for it is through field production that the body of the Association receives the new blood that is essential to its health and survival. As a member of the Board of Directors, I wish to offer some commenti on our organizing policies and I do so with a clear conscience because I cm firmly convinced that in this free country of ours this Association has exactly the same opportunities for growth and expansion than any of the large insurance organizations. There is nothing to prevent me íróm expressing my views without fear or hesitation. Not being dependent on the Association for my livelihood, I am in a position in which, free of all selfish interest, I can draw certain conclusions based on my 12 years of experience on the Board of Directors. To begin with, it should be pointed out that recently the Board of Directors has been widely criticized and blamed for the decrease in organizing results, but when the Board of Directors took action to remedy the situation, it was criticized for having done so. NOT FOR THE FIRST TIME Let’s see what actually is behind the growing dissatisfaction and critical campaign surrounding our organizing policies. But, before going into that, mention must be made of the fact that the adjustment of our financial policies, was preceded by a similar, though somewhat less vociferous, internal upheaval, during the years before the National Convention of 1943. What were the results of the changes effected in our financial policies ? Today, we are progressing along the lines of proper financial policies, methods in keeping with j the demands of modern times are applied, the advice of expert advisers is given proper consideration and honesty and experience prevail in our investment RULES FOR CHANGE OF NAME CONTEST 1. Every member of the Association in good standing and any branch of the Association is eligible to take part in the contest. 2. The Official Entry Blank published in the Verhovay Journal (on page 2, back cf this text), and the Verhovayak Lapja is the official form which must be used by those submitting a change of name. 3. The blank when completed must be enclosed in an envelope addressed to “Verhovay Name Contest,” 436 Fourth Avenue, Pittsburgh 19, Pa. The envelope must be tightly sealed and properly addressed, otherwise such entries will not be considered. 4. All envelopes will be delivered sealed to the Official Contest Committee which will be appointed by the National Convention* which will convene September 10, 1951 at Pittsburgh. 5. The contest will be void in the event the National Convention votes down the proposal for a change of name. 6. The name submitted must be indicative of the fraternal position of the Association. The name submitted must contain the word “fraternal.” For example the name submitted could be such as “Allegheny Fraternal Insurance Association.” 7. Each member or branch may submit only one change of name. 8. The contest opens August 1, 1951 and closes August 31, 1951. The postmark will be the determining factor pertaining to the closing date. 9. The winner will be declared only after the name selected by the Official Contest Committee has been approved by the National Convention and the legal authorities of the Commonwealth o3 Pennsylvania. The winner shall réceive a cash prize of $500.00. In the event of identical names being accepted by the National Convention, and the legal authorities of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania approve same, the $500.00 prize shall be divided among those submitting such identical names. policies. As a result, the assets of our Association have shown greater increase during the last 12 years than during the 54 years preceding this peried. The reorganization of our financial policies was not easily accomplished: much energy was absorbed and many obstacles had to be overcome before we could reorganize our financial system on a sound business basis. A determined fight had to be carried on against those who tried to prevent the introduction of sound business methods. Even the National Convention of 1947 had to spend several days with the aftermaths of this struggle. But the outcome proved that our policy was the right one and today I can declare with great satisfaction that our financial structure is clean and strong. WHY DID WE FALL BACK IN THE RACE? Every member and especially every delegate must bear in mind that financing and organizing are the two main arteries of the Association. If field production lags and there is no membership increase, the Association has no future. If we apply improper investment methods, then we cannot earn the required rate of interest. Now let us talk about organizing, the securing of new members, the production of new business. From the 12 years of my experience I must admit that our field production was generally below par excepting occasional, uransitory periods when favorable conditions rather than anything else helped the achievement of better results. But, when the time came when we had to meet serious competition on ehe part of the big insurance organizations, we fell back in the race because our field force was not sufficiently developed to be able to effectively meeti competition. Aware of this situation, the Board of Directors changed its organizing policies because it was impossible to escape the conclusion that production of a sufficient volume of new business on a sustained level cannot be expected without putting organizing activities under the control of the Home Office. After all, if the greater part of our field force is lacking in strength, because most of our branch managers are hard working men performing strenuous jobs in mines, mills and shops, then we cannot expect production of new business in a volume that is absolutely necessary for the health and growth of the Association. Our National President sent out innumerable appeals but, at best, the reply was mostly that our managers are tired and they have run out of prospects, while in many instances they didn’t even bother to reply, or if they did, they merely wrote that they have no time to go after new' members. ASSOCIATION NEEDS A FIELD MANAGER Seeing all this, the Board of Directors finally realized the necessity for engaging a Field Manager whose job will be to ti’ain and place competent field workers. (Continued on page 2)
