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Monday, May 10, 2021
VĚSTNÍK
Supreme Lodge hosts informational webcast for 2021 Convention delegates; presents by-law recommendations Editor’s Note: Every area of SPJST operations — from our fraternal outreach to communications, marketing and sales, investments, and accounting — has its unique challenges and opportunities. For this reason, it is important that the SPJST Supreme Lodge do its part — in the weeks leading to the convention — to inform SPJST’s 2021 Convention delegates — and the entirety of our membership — of the matters that will be brought to the floor of the 2021 Convention for discussion and action. On Saturday, May 1, 2021, the SPJST Supreme Lodge hosted a webcast to update 2021 Convention delegates on SPJST business operations as well as to brief them on the recommendations that the Supreme Lodge is making to the 2021 Convention. A transcript of the presentation delivered by Supreme Lodge President Brian Vanicek which addressed the Supreme Lodge By-Law Recommendations is reprinted here. Text of the 2021 SPJST Convention Delegates’ Webcast Delivered by SPJST Supreme Lodge President Brian Vanicek Saturday, May 1, 2021 Good morning, Brothers and Sisters. Thank you, SPJST Delegates, for your participation today and for your commitment to serve as delegates to the 33rd SPJST Convention that will take place Friday, August 13 through Sunday, August 15 at the Killeen Civic and Conference Center. Your attendance today and your participation in the weeks, months, and years ahead are pivotal to the success of SPJST. Present and future generations of the SPJST family depend upon our cooperation and collaboration. Every aspect of SPJST operations — from fraternal outreach through our
lodges and Home Office, to communications, marketing and sales, investments, and accounting — has its unique challenges and opportunities. For this reason, it is important that the SPJST Supreme Lodge do its part — today and in the weeks leading to the convention — to inform you — and the entirety of our membership — of the matters that will be brought to the floor of the 2021 Convention for discussion and action. This will be an educational process for all of us. A process to be communicated through meetings such as this, through the Vestnik and through member forums — including our 2021 district meetings and delegate meetings that will be held in each of SPJST’s seven districts. One of the recommendations that the Supreme Lodge is making to the By-Law Committee and to the Convention is the establishment of the SPJST Advisory Council. That – in fact – is one of the reasons that we are all here today: To explain and to demonstrate how the SPJST Advisory Council would function – between conventions. With the passage of this recommendation, all SPJST Convention delegates – and not just a select few – will have the opportunity to serve as members of the SPJST Advisory Council. As SPJST Advisory Council members, you will have the opportunity – on an annual basis – to observe, discuss, and offer input into SPJST management processes. SPJST Officers, Directors, and our Editor/Director of Communication believe that this kind of interaction and regular feedback is important. Our members are SPJST’s most important stakeholders. By establishing this membership feedback loop through our delegates, and by revisiting the reoccurring themes that affect our members, lodges, and business environment, we
can ensure that SPJST, its products and services, the lodge system, and the member experience are satisfactory. SPJST Advisory Council members would serve on a volunteer basis and meet annually each spring with the Supreme Lodge. The primary objective: Keeping you engaged and responsive in matters relating to the growth and development of SPJST. Today’s meeting has been constructed to provide you with an idea of how this would work. Today, you will be receiving reports on SPJST financial and fraternal status as well as presentations from each of the department heads, who will be presenting an overview of their respective sections including plans for the future. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions about the items which are presented as well as sharing your ideas for making SPJST an even better organization. Our job as officers, directors, and delegates to the 2021 SPJST Convention is not to simply repeat the past but to employ the convention process to shape a positive future. A future where we rediscover, or maybe reinvent, new fraternal products and services that make a positive difference in the lives of our members and the communities that we serve. A future where the emphasis is on volunteerism and reinforces the values outlined in our SPJST vision statement and that is: to provide a wholesome family environment; to encourage cherished Czech traditions; and to provide high quality, competitive life insurance for our members. With that introduction, I will present you with an overview of SPJST business operations for 2020. That will be followed by summaries from each department head, who will be presenting an overview of their respective sections along with plans for the future. Before I present you the overview of 2020 operations, I’m going to ask Melanie to roll the listing of 2021 SPJST scholarship recipients. (Editor’s Note: Please see scholarship winners on pages 33 to 38 of this week’s Vestnik.) I’m happy to say 39 deserving young men and women received $1,000 SPJST scholarships and leadership grants to support their pursuit of a college or technical degree. All seven districts are represented. The young people received their notification letters this week. If you know any of these great kids, please – when
you see them – offer your congratulations and best wishes. Supreme Lodge By-Law Recommendations As Supreme Lodge President, my driving objective is to ensure the financial security and fraternal relevancy of SPJST. Everything else plugs into that equation. To that end, six significant changes as well as other sundry amendments to SPJST’s governance structure were unanimously approved during the April 20, 2021, Supreme Lodge meeting and are being submitted to the SPJST ByLaw Committee and to you as delegates of the 33rd Convention for your consideration. “Corporate governance” in the life insurance industry — including fraternal life insurance — continues to be a growing focus among state regulators. Broadly speaking, “corporate governance” describes the processes, practices, and structures through which a Society manages its business and works to meet its financial and fraternal objectives and achieve long-term sustainability. The modernization of SPJST’s bylaws reflects a thoughtful and deliberative process. The Special Structure Committee designated by the 2008 Convention delivered a presentation to the 2012 Convention, the foundation of which was enacted by delegates of the 2016 Convention. We continue this dialogue leading into the 2021 Convention through the traditional rule-making process as provided for in our SPJST ByLaws. Six significant changes as well as other sundry amendments to SPJST’s governance structure were considered and discussed by Supreme Lodge officers and directors in the 18 months which preceded our April Supreme Lodge meeting. All of these recommendations were presented in the form of a motion which was unanimously approved during the April 20 Supreme Lodge meeting and are being submitted to the By-Law Committee and delegates of the 33rd Convention for consideration. The unanimous approval on the part of the Supreme Lodge gives evidence of a unity of purpose and a feeling which is especially gratifying! I will now review the six major recommendations. After that, Melanie will review our by-laws so you can see how these recommendations and others — if approved by the Convention — would affect the entirety of our by-laws.
