William Penn Life, 2003 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2003-10-01 / 10. szám
"This column will attempt to let our membership know why and how the Board voted on a particular issue." The best member is an informed member by Steve Varga, Chairman of the Board Beginning with this issue and continuing with subsequent ones, a new column will appear in our publication entitled "Inside the Board Room." It is intended to speak openly and directly to the membership and to open the doors of the Association's board room. For far too long many of our trusted and faithful members have not been informed on many of the issues discussed at these meetings nor told of the policies voted on. This column will attempt to let our membership know why and how the Board voted on a particular issue, and dispel many rumors which tend to circulate throughout the Association. I believe that the best member is an informed member. The WPA Board of Directors held their first meeting of the new term Sept. 16 to 18 at the Home Office. The 35th General Convention of the William Penn Association elected the following Directors: Ronald S. Balia Anthony C. Beke William J. Bero Barbara A. House Charles S. Johns Michael R. Kara Andrew W. McNelis Frank J. Radvany Michael F. Tomcsak Elmer W. Toth Stephen J. Varga E. E. (Al) Vargo Eleven of the 12 directors were reelected by the delegates with one new addition to the Board. Although new to this Board, Ronald S. Balia previously served as a National Director from 1987 to 1991. Welcome aboard, Ron. In a special session during the Convention, the Board elected me as their new chairman and E. E. (Al) Vargo and Elmer W. Toth as their vice chairmen. The Delegates also had the opportunity to elect six members to the National Auditing Committee. Returning for another term are Chairman Robert A. Ivancso, Vice-Chairman Dennis A. Chobody, Secretary Margaret H. Boso, Joseph Hamari and William S. Vasvary. Elected as the newest auditor was Anne Marie Schmidt. Anne Marie will replace Ernest J. Mozer Sr., who retired this year due to health reasons. Ernie: all the best; we will miss you and many thanks for your years of service to the William Penn Association. Enough with the formalities; let's get on with the business of the Association. At the September meeting, the Board discussed and voted on several key items. First, and most important, was the Association's annuity rates, a touchy subject for most but one that needed to be discussed. A frequent question which has been asked of our Directors and sales personnel is: "How can you keep the annuity rates so high?" The answer is in the quality of investments your National Officers and Directors have made over the years. By investing in good quality middle- and longterm bonds, the WPA has been able to maintain higher annuity rates through the economic down-turn. The difference between the bond yields on those investments and the annuity rates have been wide enough to maintain the high rates. But, all good things must come to an end. Today's favorable bond rates have forced many companies to buy back high-yielding bonds and to issue lower-yielding bonds. This has forced the WPA to lower our annuity rates by one half of a percentage point on our five- and nine-year withdrawal charge annuities and by one quarter of a point on our no-surrender annuity, effective Nov. 1. It's getting difficult to find safe, quality bonds that produce a high yield. Nevertheless, the WPA's annuity rates remain the highest among comparable fraternals and well above private financial firms. The next item on the Board's agenda was the election of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee, as established by the By- Laws, exercises all the powers of the Board of Directors when the full Board is not in session. Elected to this committee were: William J. Bero, Barbara A. House, Andrew W. McNelis and Frank J. Radvany. By virtue of our respective offices, Vice Chairmen Elmer W. Toth and E.E. (Al) Vargo, National President George S. Charles Jr. and I are standing members to the Executive Committee. The Board also discussed and voted on several items affecting our branches and members. First, the Board voted to increase by Continued on Page 8 Williu Pen life, October 2003 3
