William Penn Life, 2007 (42. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2007-10-01 / 10. szám
36th General Convention The delegation from Branch 14 Cleveland present their branch’s donation of $15,000 to the WPFA Scholarship Foundation. Participating in the presentation are (I- r) Vice Chairman of the Board E. E. (AI) Vargo, Chairman of the Board Stephen J. Varga, and Branch 14 Delegates Caroline H. Lanzara (branch president), Lynn M. Lanzara, Richard E. Sarosi, Nicklos T. Levi, Emma J. Oris and Erin £. Ward. Retiring National Director Frank J. Radvany (left) receives congratulations from fellow Board member Nickolas M. Kotik, who also presented Mr. Radvany wth a resolution from the Pennsylvania General Assembly honoring his service to the WPA. The Convention then warmly greeted several leaders of fellow fraternal organizations who were present to extend their best wishes in person. The delegates then took time to remember the distinguished members and friends of the WPA who had passed away since the last Convention in 2003. E. E. (Al) Vargo, vice chairman of the Board, served as master of ceremonies for the service, which included a beautiful rendition of "Amazing Grace" played on the bagpipes by Lt. Michael Scott of the Pittsburgh Police Department. The service also included reflections offered by the Rev. Joseph G. Bodnar and musical selections by Ms. Bodnar and Ms. Miller. The New Board After remembering past leaders, the Convention then handed the responsiblity for leading the WPA into its future to 14 members of its Board. Reelected to the Board by the delegates were: Ronald S. Balia of Branch 296 Springdale, Pa..; William J. Bero of Branch 1 Bridgeport, Conn.; Barbara A. House of Branch 18 Lincoln Park, Mich.; Charles S. Johns of Branch 336 Harrisburg, Pa.; Nickolas M. Kotik of Branch 8020 McKees Rocks, Pa.; Andrew W. McNelis of Branch 34 Pittsburgh; Stephen J. Varga of Branch 48 New York; and E. E. (Al) Vargo of Branch 8330 Dundalk, Md. The Convention also elected six new members to the Board, five of which were members of the former National Auditing Committee: Margaret H. Boso of Branch 129 Columbus, Ohio; Dennis A. Chobody of Branch 88 Rural Valley, Pa.; Robert A. Ivancso of Branch 27 Toledo, Ohio; Anne Marie Schmidt of Branch 249 Dayton, Ohio; and William S. Vasvary of Branch 725 Springfield, Mass. The sixth new Board member is Roger G. Nagy, who had previously served on the Board from 1983 to 1999. At one point, the Convention was recessed to allow the Board of Directors to hold a special meeting. During that meeting, the Board reelected George S. Charles Jr. as national president, Richard W. Toth as national vice president-secretary and Diane M. Torma as national vice president-treasurer. The Board also elected Fraternal Director Endre Csornán to the newly-established position of national vice presidentfraternal. The Board also elected Stephen J. Varga to serve as its chairman and E. E. (Al) Vargo as vice chairman. The Board also made a bit of history when it elected Barbara A. House to serve as its other vice chairman, making her the first women to hold that position. Taking the Initiative The new Board will now begin work on attaining the objectives outlined in the new William Penn Initiative, said Chairman Varga in his address to the Convention. "Beginning immediately, the William Penn Association will implement a strategy which aims to bring about changes, both large and small, which are needed in how we live up to our shared responsibility with our members, our employees and each other," he said. He then enumerated the 10 areas of focus and spoke of the goals "intended to provide the Association with growth, stability, expansion, dedication, fraternalism and ethnicity.: The 10 areas include:- Improved communications;- The development of Penn Scenic View;- Mergers and acquisitions;- Corporate governance;- Fraternal initiatives;- Our heritage;- Capital improvements;-Technology;- Improve internal operations; and- Employees "William Penn Assocation is now on its way to becoming the Association we want it to be," Chairman Varga said, "an Association that grows by serving its members first, an Continued on Page 11 William Penn Life, October 2007 7
