William Penn Life, 2005 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2005-02-01 / 2. szám
Branch 34 Pittsburgh, PA ____ by Andy McNelis Happy Valentine's Day to all from branch 34. As of this writing, the east has been unseasonably warm and wet, the west and mid-west have been hit with very heavy snow and rain. If you live in one of the hard hit areas, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Remember, spring is just around the corner, which means for some of us more rain and more flooding. We hope this year is safe, healthy, and DRY for all of us. Take a moment or two out of your day and say a prayer for all of our service men and women and their families. Remember: Freedom is not free, someone always pays the ultimate price for us to be free. At Conforti's Restaurant on Nov. 28, our branch was joined by Branch 71 Duquesne, Pa., and Branch 352 Coraopolis, Pa., to celebrate the annual family Christmas party. The joint Christmas party was a true success. Those that attended the party were entertained by magical illusions of Bill Averman. He had the children and adults totally amazed with his performance. As the children entertained themselves with the goodies in the Christmas stockings from the Home Office, they participated in a number of games for which prizes were awarded. The children and adults joined in singing "Jingle Bells" which signaled the arrival of our special guest "Santa Claus." Santa sat and talked with the children while his "elves" passed out gifts of stuffed animals, coloring sets, envelopes and candy. Branch 71, Branch 352 and Branch 34 would like to extend a special thank you to the Board of Directors and the Home Office staff for making this holiday season for our young members so fantastic. I want to thank everyone at the three branches who worked so hard to make this party a success. Next year should be even better. Branch members celebrating their Branch News birthdays during the month of January were, Carm DeBlasio, Anthony Medve, Daniel Primm, Hannah Primm, Carol Sample, Sarah Bucko, Michael Rim and, last but not least, happy 85th to Margaret Klein. Happy birthday wishes for February go out to branch members Mitzi Berei, Brian Goettler, Gina Goettler and Joan Nagy. We hope this year will be a safe, happy and healthy year for all of you. Just a reminder: our next branch meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at the American Hungarian Social Club on Flowers Avenue in Hazelwood. All branch members are welcome and encouraged to come. If you have any news you would like to share, please contact Andy McNelis at 412-421-6031. For information about William Penn insurance and annuity policies, please contact Branch Coordinator Maria Bistey at 412-431-6035. Branch 44 Akron, OH by Elizabeth K. Darago May the new year be healthy and happy and prosperous for all members and their families. The 2004 family Holiday party on Dec. 4 at the Golden Corral was a huge success. Fifty-nine adults and 24 junior members attended and enjoyed a bountiful brunch. The weather was crisp (i.e., winter cold) and sunny. Each adult and junior attendee received a goodie bag from the Home Office and Branch 44. Santa arrived at 10:30 a.m. after receiving landing clearance from Homeland Security. Junior members talked one-on-one with Santa, then received a present. Young-at-heart senior member Julia Bodosy also received a teddy bear. Julia was celebrating her 90th birthday. While the junior members received gifts, the adults received four-inch door prize poinsettias. Members generously brought more than 100 pounds of non-perishable food items for our holiday baskets. Recipients of the holiday baskets included: a young widow whose partner was killed by teenagers; another young widow and her three children whose husband and father was killed in a vehicular accident; and a Catholic lay house which shelters new immigrants to the area until they can be relocated in their own homes. Thanks to everyone, including the Home Office, for their generosity. A short business meeting was held during which the election of officers for 2005 was held. The 2004 officers were reelected by unanimous voice vote. They are: Elizabeth Darago, president; Nancy Chula, vice president; Carmen Buch, secretary; Marilyn Darago, treasurer; and Cheryl Stadler, Alex Darago and George Naswadi, auditors. Thanks to all who made our holiday party a success. The gift buyers, the gift wrappers, the raffle sellers, the bag stuffers, the poinsettia shoppers and, of course, Santa's elf. Branch 76 Philadelphia, PA by Bette Lewis Tokár We hope that 2005 is proving to be better than last year for everyone. (Things can always be better, even if they were very good before.) We hope that Rosemary Gogos is doing well; we have not heard from her in quite a while. We also want to send special greetings to the Harta family, the Gonzales family, the DeMario family and the Davis family. We think of you often. We ask all our members to keep us informed of any special news: a new addition to your family or a special birthday or anniversary. We would love to pass the news along. The annual election of officers held no surprises. The incumbents had no challengers and were all reelected: Jack Tokár, president; Stephen Pokomy, vice president; Bette Lewis Tokár, secretary-treasurer; and James Pokorny and Stephen Pokorny, auditors. While we are happy with the present slate, we would like to see more activity by our members (and more members, too). None of us are getting any younger, and it is impor-William Penn Life, February 2005 17
