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News
My Fraternal Viewby Steven M. Pogorelec, F.I.C.CELEBRATING A FRATERNAL MILESTONE As we look ahead to the upcoming Fourth of July observance, we have great reason to celebrate. This Fourth of July we will celebrate the 237th anniversary of our nation's birth. It is appropriate that we recall for a moment the history surrounding its birth. On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress, seated in formal session in Philadelphia, Pa., took the final vote for independence. The rest of that day and the next were spent in debate over the form and content of a declaration drafted by Thomas Jefferson. Several changes were made and the fi nal document was adopted on July 4th. As President of the Congress, John Hancock was the first individual to sign. Within two days, copies were dispatched to all the states. On July 8, the Declaration of Independence was first read publicly in Philadelphia. A day later, General Washington and his troops heard it in New York City. By August 2, 1776, some 50 members of Congress had signed the document. Over the next several months others followed suit until the last signature was finally affixed in 1781. The Declaration of Independence is the most important document in the history of our country and July 4th is an opportunity to once again recall and reflect on the meaning of that document in our lives as citizens of the greatest country on earth. As members of the Slovak Catholic Sokol, we have a second reason to celebrate the Fourth of July. It was on that day in 1905 that 46 young Slovak immigrants gathered in Passaic, N.J. and decided to form a new organization celebrating Sokol traditions of gymnastics and good sportsmanship. While they were immigrants in a sometimes strange new land, they valued the guarantee of freedom and liberty which the United States provided for them. Thus, they chose the 129th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1905 to gather in Passaic and begin a new organization which we today celebrate as the Slovak Catholic Sokol. This year's Fourth of July we will celebrate the 108th anniversary of our organization's founding. Many organizations have been founded among various immigrant groups. Very few of them have survived to celebrate their centennials. We are proud of the fact that we continue to promote the high ideals of fraternalism which inspired our organization's founders 108 years ago. Generations of Sokol members have promoted our organization and today we are a sound financial institution which deserves your continued support. Therefore, as we look ahead to our various Fourth of July celebrations, let us celebrate the dual anniversary of the founding of our nation and our organization as well. Like our country, so too has God blessed our organization. We continue to promote many fine activities in the best traditions of the fraternal benefi t system. In a recent issue, we introduced the 78 young members of our organization who were recipients of our scholarship grants. Our organization's founders would be proud of our current efforts in promoting the educational pursuits of our youth. Our scholarship program is just one of our various fraternal benefits that we offer and promote. Another fraternal benefit, our sports programs are second to none in the fraternal world. Our sports season has begun with our recently concluded 67th International Bowling Tournament which was held in Buffalo, N.Y. My congratulations go out to all the team and individual winners. I offer special congratulations to the recipient of the Frank S. Peturff Memorial Sports Award, Brother Paul E. Sweeney who enjoys membership in Assembly 79 in Lilly, Pa. Brother Paul has been a veteran of many Sokol bowling tournaments as well as Conventions and has been active in Group 9 for many years. His Sokol activity seems to keep him young - at age 93, he is one of our oldest active Sokol sportsmen. Congratulations again, Brother Paul and God's blessings for continued good health. Later this month, we will host our very popular 26th International Softball Tournament in Drifton, Pa., outside of Hazleton, Pa. And of course, we will host our 46th International Slet at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pa., July 16-20. This event is our organization's oldest and most revered sports gathering. And then in late summer, we will host our 58th International Golf Tournament on August 9-11, at Mountain Valley Golf Resort in Hazleton, Pa. I hope that many of our members and families will take advantage of these outstanding opportunities to celebrate their membership in the Slovak Catholic Sokol. We have much to be grateful for as we observe our organization's 108th birthday. However, to insure our continued success, we need the cooperation of all our members. We all need to see that all our children and grandchildren enjoy membership in our organization which offers sound, affordable insurance and annuity products and at the same time offers so many fine fraternal benefits. Many of us hail from multi-generational Sokol families. It is up to each of us to see that every member of our family enjoys membership in our organization. If every one of our families was 100% Sokol, our membership would grow by leaps and bounds. That is what caused our organization to grow in its early years. Through the insight and hard work of our immigrant founders, our organization has grown to become a sound financial entity worthy of our support. Today we have more than $103 million of insurance in force and nearly $64 million in assets. In the recently published letter from our CPS Actuaries regarding our financial status, it was reported that our society enjoys a Solvency rate of 117.07 percent. This means that for every $100 of liabilities, we have $117.07 in assets. This is an attractive rate, one which few other fraternals or commercial companies enjoy. We have shown growth and promise in all areas of our organization. We are proud of our recent efforts to grow the Slovak Catholic Sokol and your help will enable us to achieve even greater success. So if you have any questions regarding any of our insurance or annuity products, don't hesitate to give a call to our Director of Sales & Marketing, Brother Albert J. Suess, Jr., FIC, at toll-free 1-888-381-5431 or (412)381-5431 or the Home Office. Until next time, I am looking forward to seeing many of you at our Softball Tournament and I hope that all of our members enjoy the upcoming Fourth of July festivities with families and friends. Have a great summer season, good health to all and peace be with you. Zdar Boh!
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