Fraternity-Testvériség, 2002 (80. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2002-04-01 / 2. szám
FRATERNITY Page 3 From the President’s Desk Greetings to you all in the precious name of our Lord, Jesus Christ! It is with great pleasure that, as the newly elected President/Chief Executive Officer of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, I extend greetings to all the readers of our official publication, Fraternity. In the last issue, you had an opportunity to read a little bit about my background. At this time, I would like to share with you some of my thoughts and vision of what I intend to accomplish with your help and cooperation. As, by God’s grace, we enter into this new millennium, our beloved Hungarian Reformed Federation faces many difficult challenges. First and foremost, I would like to turn to you, the members and readers of this publication, for assistance. I ask that you work, together with us in the Home Office and with the field force, to stop the erosion of our membership. I am sure you have heard in the past that the Federation stands on solid financial ground. This is evidenced by our solvency ratio, which is one of the best among Fraternal life insurance companies. Our reserves are also very high. But we lack one thing—membership growth. We acknowledge that, during the last few decades, our insurance in-force numbers have decreased, and, if this trend continues, we may have trouble keeping our Federation as we know it. The national trend is that either larger companies buy up smaller companies or smaller companies are forced to merge in order to keep up with the rising expenses in running their organization. The last Convention in 2000 had the foresight to be aware of these facts and voted to reorganize the management structure of this organization. The number of National Officers was reduced from three to two. Mr. William B. Puskas, Jr., our Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer, and I were challenged by inner inspiration and changed our professional careers to serve the Federation. Although we both come from different business backgrounds, know that we are fully committed to rebuilding our business, with your help and assistance, along with the help of our Hungarian churches and associations. We are committed to meeting the challenges the Federation will face in the future. Former Chairperson Priscilla Hunyady administering the oath of office to the Rev. Stefan M. Torok, President/CEO. Board of Directors’ Banquet, April 8, 2002. At the last Board of Directors’ meeting, held on April 8-13, 2002, Mr. George Dózsa was elected to serve as Chairman of the Board. It is our hope that, with his experience and the vision of Mr. Puskas and myself, we can work hand in hand, along with Federation members, to revitalize our organization and again make it a flourishing enterprise. In the last few years, we have served in various capacities on the Board of the Federation. We hope that now, in our new positions, we will be able to offer a new vision and direction to the Federation. This, in turn, will enable the Federation to again become a vital force in our American-Hungarian Community. You must be aware that the Federation is two businesses at the same time. Our primary business is selling life insurance. Our secondary business is to perpetuate the Fraternal Spirit, which is an integral part of our existence. The Hungarian Reformed Federation of America has much to offer. Beside our manifold portfolio of insurance policies and annuities, we also offer specialized care for our elderly in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, in the form of intermediate care and skilled nursing care. We offer mortgage loans, with no points and at a very reasonable rate, to our members. Our services are always available for the asking. (See the article on page 10 for all of our services, or visit us on our Website at hrfa.org.) Our main goal is to stabilize our membership and grow in the future. In order to accomplish this, we know that difficult decisions face us in the future. To begin the process of rejuvenation, we are starting a campaign to recruit individuals who are willing to be trained to begin a new career in the insurance field with us. If you know anyone or would like to participate yourself in this new venture, please write to me at the Home Office or E-mail me at hrfapresident@capu.net. I look forward to hearing from some of you. Together with the Home Office staff and members of the Board of Directors, I want to work with you to accomplish our goals. Our goal is to restore this organization to the glory days of the past. Please come and join us in this task! Sincerely, Rev. Stefan M. Torok President/CEO
