Page 2 – Hermann Sons Life – August 2022
HERMANN SONS LIFE USPS 242200 Periodicals Postage Paid at San Antonio, Texas Published Monthly by HERMANN SONS LIFE 515 S. St. Mary’s St. San Antonio, Texas 78205 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Hermann Sons Life, P.O. Box 1941w San Antonio, TX 78297-1941 DIRECTORS Kimberly Krueger, Chair David Wolf, Vice Chair David R. Noak Stan Steiger Laura Tiffin Gerald Ziemnicki OFFICERS President and CEO Robin Czarnek Vice President of Operations and COO Samantha Schulmeier Kelley Vice President of Finance and CFO Mary Pruitt Vice President of Member Benefits Cecily Kelly Vice President of Sales Teresa Saathoff
COMMITTEES
President and CEO Robin Czarnek is accepting requests for Standing Committee assignments. The committees include the Laws Committee, Member Benefits Committee, Community Engagement Committee and the Business Operations Committee. If interested, notify Robin by email: robinc@hermannsonslife.org
Let's make Hermann Sons Life the best place to be! By ROBIN CZARNEK President and CEO From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for the warm reception you have shown me since joining Hermann Sons Life in April 2021 . My husband, David, and I have enjoyed visiting many lodges and meeting so many of you, and we look forward to meeting many more members at future lodge meetings and events . It is my privilege to have been appointed your President and CEO by our Board of Directors . I am honored for the faith and trust they have placed in me . This is an honor I don’t take lightly . I will be working hard to move Hermann Sons Life forward, as will the Home Office staff . Change is never easy, but everyone of us here at the Home Office is dedicated to ensuring that we do everything possible to not only improve the experience for our members, but to ensure that we are providing the very best products and member benefits as well . I am reminded of the quote by John F . Kennedy, “There are risks and costs to action . But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction .” Hermann Sons Life has been a blessing to so many families across our
great state of Texas and for us, the risk of inaction could mean obsolescence if we don’t move forward . Our Robin Czarnek mission is to ensure our future generations are also able to experience the Hermann Sons Life community that has blessed and enriched our lives . We recognize the need for modern technology, new products and innovation and new ways of being a lodge community, as well as communication with you . With the world moving so fast, we recognize the importance of finding new, better ways to serve you . We are in the middle of testing a new policy administration system to be able to serve you more efficiently and provide the technology and tools you’ve been requesting . We have been listening and are working hard to improve customer service . While technology never rolls out as fast as we would like it to, we want you to know it’s coming, and we’re excited! Your sales team has been researching new products to serve you as well .
We take the responsibility of being your trusted life insurance organization seriously and that means finding new, innovative ways for you to protect your family and your assets . You will be hearing more soon about some exciting product developments that we can’t wait to share with you, so stay tuned! Not only do we strive to be your trusted financial institution, but it is also our mission to “strengthen community .” That means we need to be actively pursuing service opportunities . The pandemic greatly slowed volunteerism, so we need to focus on recommitting ourselves to strengthening our communities through service and financial assistance . It’s important to us to continue the legacy our founding fathers began and to keep the traditions of fraternalism alive . With fraternalism in mind, we are rolling out a new award for 2022, the “Leroy Muehlstein Fraternalist of the Year” award with the blessing of the Muehlstein family . We will be recognizing an agent each year that exhibits what it means to be not only a Hermann Sons Life member, but a humanitarian . We will be accepting nominations from our members for this award in Janu-
ATTENTION LODGE REPORTERS:
Monthly Features
Lodge reporters, with the retirement of Kathie Ninneman, all lodge meeting reports, photos and any information to be included in the Hermann Sons Life newspaper should now be sent to Communications Director Elaine Hernandez Soto. Her email address is elaines@hermannsonslife.org. She can be reached by phone at 210-226-9261, ext. 279. Please give her a call if you have any questions.
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Houston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kerrville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lousie Schuetze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Bielau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Vogt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pershing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prinz Solms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Round Top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rutersville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Marcos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seguin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vineta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yorktown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Calendar of Events In Memoriam Pioneer Members Memorial Donations
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President's Message New vice president of sales Join Hands Day Counselors share experiences
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A message from new vice president Agent training Prize winner Agents participate in Family Fun Day Agent listing
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Dance registration opens Camp photos Shining Stars
New This Month
Lodge Reports Anton Wenzel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boerne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Converse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Corpus Christi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dallas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deanvillie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dunlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellinger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flatonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fort Worth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gay HIll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Giddings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harmonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Helotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hochheim-Prairie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ary 2023 . We are thrilled to be able to share this with you . Mr . Muehlstein exemplified the true spirit of fraternalism, and it’s our blessing to be able to carry on his good works through our agents . Mr . Muehstein was the ultimate fraternalist who lived life every day by the Hermann Sons Life motto of “Friendship, Love and Loyalty .” He began his Hermann Sons Life journey in 1955 as a member of Harmonia Lodge and served in numerous capacities throughout his life from president of his lodge to being elected Grand President . He served from 1989 to 2009, longer than any other Grand President . He never missed an opportunity to help the community and was quick to volunteer for projects such as Join Hands Day . His reach extended far beyond Hermann Sons Life as he worked as a volunteer in so many ways, from making repairs at a local elementary school to serving in several organizations like the Optimist Club and Boysville . Please know that I am always a phone call or email away and, of course, my door is always open if you want to stop by and visit . We want to hear your ideas and make Hermann Sons Life the best place to be!
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Sales News
Youth in Action
