William Penn Life, 1985 (20. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1985-05-01 / 3. szám
President’s Column Fraternals Face Taxation The likelihood of federal taxation is on the doorstep of all Fraternal Societies. In recent meetings with various members of Congress, it was developed that the tax exemption of fraternal societies is in real jeopardy. Fraternals today are generally indistinguishable from taxable commercial insurers, which gives fraternals an unfair competition advantage, so say the members of Congress. It will not be enough to be fraternal in name only. Congress wants to know what charitable and benevolent activities have the fraternals performed or operated. The fraternal system must prove that they are more than just fraternals by name. Our future as fraternals may be on the line. We shall keep you informed. At the request of President Sabo, Vice President and General Counsel Gay B. Banes attended these meetings in Washington, D.C. on May 1 and 2, 1985 with various members of Congress. Executive Vice President John Kenawell Returns to Work It is a pleasure to report that John Kenawell has fully recovered after undergoing major surgery. He returned to work May 6,1985. Welcome back John! His lovely wife, Linda and their five children, contributed in a big way to his early recovery. Dayton, Ohio Radio Program I wish to congratulate, Director Albert Kertesz and his beloved wife for the fine Hungarian radio program they put together each week for their Dayton, Ohio and vicinity listeners. They are on the air every Sunday from 9:05 A.M. to 12 Noon. Theirs is a professionally orchestrated three hours of music that should please all who listen. It was my good fortune to hear one of his radio broadcasts. Pleasant, very pleasing, I must say. Pennsylvania Governor Richard Thornburgh Appoints New Hungarian Commissioner It was my good fortune to be appointed to Pennsylvania’s Heritage Affairs Commission. Governor Thornburgh filled a vacancy that existed since the death of Dr. Tibor Bodi of Philadelphia, Pa. This is the first time a William Penn National President has been so honored. New Brunswick, New Jersey Committee Plans Special Functions for Memorial Day Weekend Directors Joseph Arvay and Zoltán Emri have informed the Home Office that in addition to the Annual Scholarship Meeting, which will take place Friday evening, May 24,1985 and the bowling tournament which will begin Saturday morning, the New Brunswick Committee has other special events scheduled for our members and guests. On Saturday, an extraordinary program will be held in honor of the late Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty. Cardinal Mindszenty, Primate Prince of Hungary, died ten years ago, May 6, 1975. The event shall take place in front of the Mindszenty statue which was erected by the New Brunswick Hungarian community. Immediately following this occasion, down the street from the Mindszenty statue, a floral tribute will be placed at the statue erected in honor of the Hungarian Freedom Fighters of 1956. A Hungarian Mass at St. Ladislaus Roman Catholic Church will take place at 10:30 A.M., Sunday, Mav 26, 1985. National Golf Tournament July 13, 1985 will mark the occasion of the Second Annual National Golf Tournament hosted by Branch 189, Alliance, Ohio and sponsored by the William Penn Association. Please see details in a special article appearing in this issue of our official publication. Annual Carnival The Committee of the Knights of St. George Home of the William Penn Association is planning another fine day of worship, fun and relaxation to mark its annual carnival to be held July 28, 1985 on the Mount St. George grounds in Wellsburg, West Virginia. All William Penn members are invited. A Field Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 A.M. by Father Frederick Becker, OFM, CAP, Resident Chaplain of our Home. Additional details are contained in an article appearing elsewhere in this edition of the William Penn Life. Continued from page 5, column 1 William Penn Summer Picnics (The Kind That Make Memories) Providing Opportunities Key Item In Attracting Our Young People By Barbara B. Botkin, National Director A summer day, warm sunshine, wild flowers in bloom everywhere. The perfect setting for an old fashioned William Penn picnic. I can remember the Willian Penn picnics of my youth; the games, the great food, the melodious singing, and the hearty laughter. The games were what I loved and remember the best. Pin the tail on the donkey was great fun (even though all of us kids were sure the winner could see through the blindfold). My favorite picnic activity was searching in sawdust for pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Everybody won something at the game. The aroma of kolbász and hot dogs with sauerkraut filled the air. I can picture a lot of the men, particularly the oldtimers, gathered around a fire, making szalonna, that delectable concoction of Hungarian slab bacon drippings atop rye bread and raw onions. Vivid memories of children giggling and chanting "Az A Szép” — and grownups laughing and singing timeless Hungarian melodies will remain with me always. Everyone has picnics but I’m interested now in making some new memories for the juveniles at our branch and for my own children. We haven’t had a family picnic in our locale for quite some time. Has your branch held a summer picnic in the recent past? If we want our young people to become sincerely interested in our Association from a fraternalist’s point of view as well as a benefit member’s point of view, we must provide every opportunity to involve them in fraternal activities. Fraternal involvement is something which can’t be forced on our youth but rather must be cultivated over a long period of time in a series of rewarding and enjoyable experiences, lest our children think we are nothing more than an insurance company. One of the best reasons for holding a family picnic is that it brings young and old together in fellowship for some good, wholesome fun. Branch officers can take the reins in organizing a picnic. Many branches do hold summer picnics but many do not provide activities for children. Contact a branch officer in your area to find out if a picnic is in the works in your vicinity. The following suggestions may be of interest to any of you planning picnics this summer, whether they be William Penn affiliated or not. Our most successful picnics have been those at which the main course is provided by the branch itself and the families attending bringing covered dishes to share with other picnic-goers. This produces immediate involvement on the part of all attending. Picnic planners can suggest to members ahead of time that they bring either a salad, or a dessert, and so on. The branch may choose to serve kolbász and hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, or any other kind of simple, traditional picnic fair. Fried chicken is a good choice if you don’t have a large work force to prepare food because it can be made up ahead of time and eliminates the need for grills, providing games or some sort of activities for children and adults is important. You can make the activities informal such as simply providing a whiffle ball and bat, badminton equipment, and horseshoes. Or you can take a more organized approach and hold contests for young and old. The raw egg throw between partners as they back further away from each other is a favorite of mine. Three legged races are fun. Be sure you have the burlap sacks needed for partners in which to place one of their legs. Wheelbarrow races are a great mixer event for young and old as the adult can hold the legs of the child. The coin search in the sawdust is great for children and provides a prize for all of them. Straw or hay may be substituted for the sawdust. Make sure a fairly large search area is provided so children won’t bump heads with each other. A scavenger hunt is a great project for older children. Youngsters can be divided into teams and requested to retrieve natural objects from the surrounding area or items can be hidden by the committee ahead of time. Prizes such as notebooks, or any other kind of novelty school supply item can be awarded to the winning team. It is wise to plan your picnic where some sort of shelter will be available in case of rain. A section could then be designated as a game area for children. Some good indoor games include clothespins in a bottle, toss the basketball into a garbage can, pin the tail on the donkey, suction dart throwing, and Simon says. Music is a great boost to picnics as it gets people singing and dancing. Investing in a good band that’s not too expensive will be well worth the money. Branch officers should know that the Board of Directors has authorized matching funds from a Fraternal Fund for any one approved branch activity (dependent upon the number of branch members participating in the activity). Planning ahead is the key to a successful picnic. Try to have as firm a commitment as possible as to how many will be attending your event and what kind of dish they’ll be bringing. A good place to start in contacting people to attend your function is to send out letters using the juvenile member list available to you from Christmas parties. Extend an invitation to all members and friends but make it a branch affair. A summer picnic with all the traditional trimmings is a simple way to put some William Penn fraternalism into your family’s and members’ summer. Contact your branch officers for any summer activities taking place in your area or John Tusai, the new National Fraternal Affairs Director, at William Penn Association in Pittsburgh (412-231-2979). The format is old but we need more branch officers to say: “Let’s do it.” Wishing you all a great summer and write the Home Office about your activities! Continued from page 7, column 5 Wahl Salutes Work Of Four Sales Agents new members in the 1st quarter of 1985. Stephen S. Drotar is an agent with just three months with the William Penn Association, yet he’s already doing very well. Steve was named Agent-of-the-6
