"CHANGING TO MEET THE CHANGING NEEDS OF FRATERNAL STS"
"Joining Hands To Touch Lives-Fraternalism for the Family and Our Nation"
Official Organ Of The Slavonic Benevolent Order Of The State Of Texas, Founded 1897
BENEVOLENCE
HUMANITY
BROTHERHOOD
Postmaster: Please Send Form 3579 to: SUPREME LODGE, SPJST, P. 0. Box 100, Temple, Texas 76503 ISSN-07458800 FEBRUARY 7, 1990 VOLUME 78 NUMBER 6
Supreme Lodge Officers' And Directors' Annual Reports State's Guaranty Fund, was also met by a united front of fraternals. After a public hearing before the State Board of. Insurance, the proposal was withdrawn. In today's society we cannot become complacent, we must strive to maintain and improve our communication with our public officials. To this extent, a tracking system has been established by the Home Office to insure that public officials are made aware of the many benefits we, as fraternals, provide to our members and their surrounding communities .
Howard B. Leshikar
President's Report Dear Fellow Members: My family and I would like to wish each of you a happy and prosperous New Year. As we look forward to our Society's 100th Anniversary in 1997, we must first recognize our present status as a fraternal. There were several occurrences in the 1980s that made us aware of the need to communicate the benefits of a fraternal society to others. The Treasury Department of the Federal Government began a study on a proposal to tax fraternals. As of today, we are still waiting for the results of that study. However, in response to that proposal, our Society, along with other fraternals, began to establish a closer relationship and better lines of communication with the public officials who have a direct bearing on laws governing fraternal societies. The fraternals in the State of Texas, in order to have input on the legislation being proposed by the State, recognized that we would have to cooperate as a collective group. This cooperation, we feel, helped to defeat the several proposals that would have seriously jeopardized our fraternal status. One of these legislative moves, the proposal for the licensing of all volunteer sales representatives, was withdrawn after testimony was presented by the Fraternals at the State Board of Insurance hearing. The latest proposal by the State Board, to include the Fraternals in the
Not only have these occurrences in 80s made us aware of our need to communicate our benefits, it has also reminded us, that to maintain our fraternal status, we must maintain and improve our lodge system. The dedication of our members to the SPJST is one of our major assets. Our members, regardless of what position they have held: Lodge Officer, Sales Representative, Youth Leader, District Officer, Director, Editor, Officers of the Supreme Lodge and Staff, have always given of their time and talent. Because of our members, our organization has prospered even in difficult times. This dedication has enabled us to become a strong and viable organization through the lodge system. Without lodges we are not a fraternal. To bypass or underrate the lodge system , is to weaken our fraternal status, and worse yet, to destroy it. It must be our objective to serve our membership through a strong lodge system and through the benefits that we offer. Keeping this in mind, our State Fraternal Activities Coordinator Frank Klinkovsky has scheduled training sessions with both District and Local Lodge Fraternal Activities Coordinator (FACs), especially the newly - elected FACs. The FACs are being trained and educated about the benefits and programs the SPJST has to offer. All members are invited to attend the Local Lodge Officers' Workshop scheduled for February 24, 1990. This is another way that we can update and improve our lodge system through the training process. Last year, 190 officers and members representing 48 lodges were in attendance. This year attendance for the workshop is expected to increase.
A special called meeting of the Supreme Lodge Board is planned on February 23, 1990 to set up goals for our Society. With the coming of our 100th Anniversary, the Board has a unique opportunity to set up short and long - term goals that we can achieve by that date . We think that this will set the ground work to see that SPJST continues to meet the members' needs throughout the coming decades. We are very pleased to announce that Lodge No. 1 - Fayetteville, one of the SPJST original charter lodges, has become active again. A Christmas social was held and the enthusiasm displayed by the officers and members of the lodge was very encouraging. In the January 1990 Supreme Lodge meeting, the State Fraternalist of the Year was selected from many local lodge fraternalist winners. We are pleased to announce that Alvin Sefcik, of Lodge No. 172, Pasadena, was selected as the 1989 State Fraternalist of the Year. We congratulate Brother Sefcik and thank him for his many contributions to our Society. Our SPJST library, Archives and Museum continues to generate interest. In 1989 the museum welcomed 1,922 visitors, including 29 from other countries. Germany, Russia, Canada and Czechoslovakia were some of the countries represented by museum guests. Our Museum Curator Thelma Bartosh Groppell was pleased to receive a large collection of dolls in handmade authentic Czech costume. This donation to the SPJST was very much appreciated by our Society. The youth program continues to generate growth and enthusiasm. State Youth Director Claudette Reese reported that 2 new Youth Clubs; Lodge No. 130, Dallas and Lodge No. 172, Pasadena, were organized this past year. Plans are being made to organize 3 more Youth Clubs in the near future. An encouraging sign to our Society, in the past year, was the increase seen in attendance at both our summer camps and our Leaders - In - Training (LIT) Workshop. New programs implemented for the youth members this past year were: Grandparent's Day events, Fund - Raisers for the Czech Chair and the Battleship Texas and the SPJST Candy Fund - Raiser. The Supreme Lodge Board also has approved the awarding of a
Scholarship to the SPJST State King and Queen beginning in 1990. The representation of SPJST by the appearance of the State King and Queen in various functions around the state were very well received. Through invitations across the state, the State King and Queen gained more visibility in 1989 than in any other previous year. We wish to thank the SPJST State King and Queen for representing the Society in such a fine manner. We also want to acknowledge that many people are responsible for the Youth Programs positive impact. We want to thank the Supreme Lodge, the State Youth Director, the District Youth Leaders, Local Lodge Youth Leaders and the many parents and members who gave of their time for behind the scenes support of our youth and our Society. There are many who give behind the scenes support to our Society, and this year we were proud to recognize some of these members through 50 - year pins and Age 96 presentations. Last year, we recognized 406 members who had reached the 50 - year membership mark. Many local lodges honored these members with ceremonies. We were especially pleased to honor 5 members who reached the Grand Age of 96 in 1989. Secretary to the President, Barbara Wright, worked with the families to organize the presentations to these members. It was a pleasure to show these individuals our appreciation. The Supreme Lodge Board authorized a 1990 SPJST Calendar to be sent to every household in our organization, along with a brief report outlining the benefits for our members. The Board feels this is an effective way to make more information available to our members. A new benefit initiated by the Supreme Lodge Board in 1989 is the SPJST 'Tours' program. The Las Vegas Tour in January 1990 proceeded very well. There were 71 members participating in this, the first of the 'Tours' program. A summer trip to Las Vegas and a trip to Czechoslovakia are being discussed for the future. We were pieasea with the response of our members to the 1989 SPJST Charity Drives. The generous donations of our members to the Battleship Texas restoration project (Cont'd on Page 3)