William Penn Life, 2012 (47. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2012-02-01 / 2. szám

Hungarians,

Unite in Support

of WPA!

by Kathy Megyeri

FOR THE LAST SEVEN MONTHS, I have witnessed the slow, agonizing death of a long-valued Hungarian institution—the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America—and now, it is complete. The insurance departments involved have approved the decision of HRFA's Board of Directors and its convention delegates to transfer its $15 million in assets and its

10,000 members to GBU Financial in Pittsburgh, PA, a company that shares no common bond or history with Hungarians and is currently not able to sell its products in New York state because of sanctions imposed by that state's insurance commissioner.

It broke my heart while walking through the Kossuth House to see those founding fathers' pictures being taken off the wall, for those miners' and ministers' goal was to serve the insurance needs of their Hungarian constituency and ensure the continuation of Hungarian culture, language and traditions. HRFA's doors are shutting forever, and surprisingly enough, even the CEO of GBU Financial has repeatedly vocalized his surprise that HRFA didn't merge with WPA in light of the Hungarian common bond and shared heritage.

I also felt sad today when I learned that, in spite of the sagging economy in Hungary and its myriad of economic, political and social problems, it has pledged a seven figure sum of money to the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., to help erect a museum dedicated to all the victims of Communism. While this is a noble act that will no doubt encourage other countries to match or exceed the grant money, the Heritage Foundation does not exclusively serve Hungarians. And if the Hungarian government can afford such a grant, why doesn't it support the interests of tried and true, time-proven Hungarian organizations in the U.S.?

Why hasn't the Hungarian government given a donation to the largest and only Hungarian fraternal insurance society in the U.S.—William Penn Association—to strengthen its scholarship program, enhance its fraternal activities and help promote tourism to Hungary in addition to the yearly trips that Endre and Arlene Csornán organize each year?