Fraternity-Testvériség, 1973 (51. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1973-04-01 / 4-6. szám
SECRETARY’S REPORT for the year 1972. Mr. President, Members of the Board of Directors: In 1972 our Federation reached its 76th birthday and at the time I am writing my report the Federation already entered its 77th year of existence. 1972 was also an important year in the life and history of the Federation because it held its 29th quadrennial Convention in Ligonier, Pa. At the Convention all reports documented the fact that the Federation made progress during the past four years in every area except in membership and the number of certificates. As we thanked God for the progress made by his blessings and grace, we also praised the past and present officers and workers for their dedicated services. The Convention passed many resolutions concerning the future life and operation of the Federation and the Bethlen Home. The resolutions needing Board action will be presented by the National Officers through their respective departments. The Field Force members and the Branch Managers thank the Board for the raise they received in 1972. All the National Officers were reelected for a four year term. I most solemnly pledge to serve the welfare and best interests of the Federation for the next four years, I ask God to bless me with good health, faithfulness and steadfastness. I wish to thank Mrs. Palma George for breaking in Mrs. Martha Bors-DeGrothy as part-time and Miss Klara Acs as full-time secretaries. Miss Acs started her secretarial work on July 12th. In 1972 we were often pressed with special Convention work. Mrs. George was always willing to help free of charge for her services whenever extra work was needed because of the Convention or during the illness and post-operative period of Miss Acs. I also want to thank the two underwriters of my department, Mr. Tibor Baksy and Mr. Desmond Garanyi for their efficient work and dedicated services. They formerly worked in the Treasurer’s and Controller’s Departments. Mr. Baksy worked for the Federation for 16 years and Mr. Garanyi will reach his 25th anniversary service on April 1, 1973. Both underwriters should be recognized as experts in the complex insurance work of the Home Office. Mr. Garanyi also deserves praise for managing the Home Office branch 300 with utmost efficiency. I. ADMINISTRATION 1. State and Provincial Licenses The applications with the requested enclosures were mailed in time for the 1972 and 1973 licenses to the thirteen states and the Ontario Canadian Province. The Federation received licenses to operate in the thirteen states and the Ontario Canadian Province. 2. Board of Directors a) During the year two regular and two special meetings were held by the Board of Directors. Special meetings were held on January 29th and June 22 through 24 in Ligonier. Also brief sessions were held during the Convention whenever consultation, discussion or decisions to be made were necessary. b) The material specified in our by-laws was mailed to the members and to the Convention delegates. c) The following were presented at the meetings: the agenda of the meetings; the reports of the advisory members of the Board of Directors; complaints received about irregularities of branch meetings and the election of Convention delegates. 3. Convention The twenty-ninth Convention was held on June 26th through 30th, 1972 in the Holiday Inn, Ligonier, Pa. The election of the delegates and alternates was conducted in accordance with the by-laws and the directives of the Board of Directors. A few complaints of minor irregularities were received from the branches in connection with the election of delegates and alternates. These were settled either by the Executive Committee or the Board of Directors. The Convention was constituted of 16 members of the Board of Directors and 50 branch delegatets. Total number of elected Officers and Delegates: 66; total number of voting members present: 66. Rev. Dr. Andrew Harsanyi and Rev. Francis Vitéz were elected recording secretaries. Advisory members with right of voice but no vote: the Rt. Rev. Louis Nagy, Superintendent of the Bethlen Home, Alex B. Eger, Jr., Legal Counsellor, Dr. Paul Harsanyi, Medical Director, Ben Kop- pelman and A1 Eglow, Accountants. The invitations to the meeting and the quadrennial reports of the National Officers were mailed to the delegates. The Convention program and the proposed revisions of the by-laws recommended by the Board of Directors and copies of the 1968 edition of the by-laws were distributed to the delegates. 4. By-Laws Extensive revisions were drafted of our by-laws by the Executive Committee with the counsel of our Legal Counsellor. The Board of Directors reviewed the text and recommended same with the changes made to the Convention for adoption. The Convention’s Administrative and Organization Committee again made changes in the text and presented same to the plenary session of the Convention. Further changes were made by the delegates until the final text of each revised paragraph was approved by the Convention and the revised by-laws was adopted as a whole. The revised by-laws was published in the Fraternity, the official paper of the Federation and also in a booklet form with the by-laws of the Bethlen Home added as an appendix. The revised by-laws were sent to the insurance departments of the 13 states and the Ontario Province of Canada in which the Federation operates for official approval. 5. Executive Committee During the year 53 Executive Committee meetings were held. Paul St. Miklossy, Recording Secretary will give a detailed report of these meetings. 6. Disciplinary Matters During the year there was no need for any disciplinary action. 7. Fraternity Our Official Paper was edited by Dr. Zoltán Beky, President and published at the Bethlen Freedom Press, Inc., Ligonier, Pa. During the year I cooperated with the President by writing promotional and fraternal articles in English and Hungarian. I must emphasize again the necessity of publishing more English articles and pictures illustrating the charitable projects and the fraternal activities of our Federation and its branches. I am happy to report that President Beky also recognizes this trend and is giving more space for such material. 15
