William Penn Life, 2007 (42. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2007-10-01 / 10. szám
36th General Convention Continued from Page 7 Association agile enought to take advantage of opportunities and an Association that acts responsibly with employees who are proud to work here." A Fond Farewell As it looked toward the future, the Convention bid a fond farewell to four members of the Board and one member of the National Auditing Committee who retired during the Convention: National Directors Anthony C. Beke, Frank J. Radvany, Michael F. Tomcsak and Elmer W. Toth and Auditing Committee member Joseph Hamari. All five gentlemen were honored for their long and distinguished service to the WPA during the Convention Banquet held Tuesday, Sept. 4. Each of them--as well as former National Director Frank J. Wukovits Jr.-were called individually to the stage by Chairman Varga, who presented each with a plaque and WPA wristwatch as thanks for their loyalty and dedication. Mr. Radvany received special recognition for his many years of service as the Board's secretary, a difficult and time consuming job that he performed with unsurpassed attention, accuracy and dedication. Fellow Board member Nickolas M. Kotik presented Mr. Radvany with a copy of a resolution passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly which honored Mr. Radvany for his service. All of the retirees received a welldeserved round of applause from those gathered for the banquet. The banquet guests would later offer another well-deserved round of applause to the producer of a new feature-length documentary about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Entitled "Torn from the Flag," the film tells the story of the revolution through pictures, old film footage and recent interviews with many of those who fought in and survived those dark days. Klaudia Kovács, the film's producer and director, presented a short video preview of the film on large screens erected on either side of the ballroom's center stage. Ms. Kovács noted that the film, now complete, was now looking for a distributor to show the film worldwide. She also said she hopes to have the film accepted and shown at several of the more prestigious film festivals. Ms. Kovács thanked the WPA for the financial assistance it provided during production of the film, and called on all present to help in any way they can to get the film shown to a broader audience. After dinner, delegates and guests enjoyed the Hungarian music provided by the George Bátyi ensemble. Many spent the remainder of the evening socializing and dancing. Show of Support The next morning, the Convention reconvened for it's final business session, which featured another show of unity by the delegates, this time in support of the William Penn Fraternal Association Scholarship Foundation. Erin Ward, a delegate from Branch 14 Cleveland and former WPA scholarship recipient, spoke to the Convention about the importance of the Scholarship Foundation. "I am proud to be a member of an organization that promotes my Hungarian culture, provides competitive life insurance and annuity plans, and financially supports it's members' educations," she said. "William Penn's giving spirit continues with your support so that students like myself can benefit and continue to promote the fraternal spirit of my great-grandfather." The delegates then pledged and donated a total of $35,000 to the fund, which provides grants to young members seeking a higher education. Leading the day's contributors was Branch 14 Cleveland, which donated $15,000. (For a complete list of donations from the Convention, please turn to Page 20.) During the three days of meetings, the Convention heard from a number of speakers, including a former president of the United States...who has been dead for 88 years! Teddy Roosevelt (aka, Pittsburghbased motivational speaker Keith McGough) strode into the Convention to the strains of a Sousa march. His message to the delegates was simple and straightforward, encouraging all present to get involved to help lead the Association into a brighter future. Afterwards, many delegates and guests couldn't resist the opportunity to have their photo taken with the charismatic head of state. While perhaps not as thunderous, other speakers did share important information and ideas with the Convention delegates.- Robert Bruce offered highlights of the WPA's actuarial report and noted the strong financial standing the Association continues to enjoy;- August Molnár, president of the American Hungarian Foundation, invited his fellow delegates to purchase the AHF's new book which tells the story of its first 50 years, and outlined the AHF's ambitious expansion plans for its Hungarian Heritage Center in New Brunswick, N.J.;- WPA General Counsel Ralph Manning discussed the importance of estate planning and encouraged the delegates to consider including the WPA's scholarship foundation and other charitable endeavors in their own estate planning. [WP1.| 1 1 William Penn Life, October 2007 Teddy Roosevelt shares an inspirational message with the Convention delegates.
