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PRCUA ELECTS
ITS NATIONAL LEADERS
Chicago, IL - The Polish Roman Catholic Union of America - the mother of
Polish American fraternals - established in 1873, held its 59th National
Quadrennial Convention in Buffalo, New York from August 13 to August 16,
2006.
A
Pre-Convention Golf Outing was held at Glen Oak Golf Course in Amherst, NY
in the afternoon and early evening of Saturday, August 12th. A course in
“Deputy/Agent Ethics” was presented to PRCUA deputies on Saturday at the
Adam’s Mark Hotel by William Seranko and Michael Crissey on Saturday,
followed by a course in “Anti Money Laundering and Suspicious Activity
Reporting” taught by Bill Seranko.
To
welcome delegates and guests, a reception was sponsored by the PRCUA at the
Adam’s Mark Hotel on Saturday evening, where past delegates were happy to
see one another again and new delegates were oriented about convention
activities.
OPENING MASS - (Photos) The
fraternal gathering officially began on Sunday, August 13 with an Opening
Mass at 11:00 a.m. celebrated at Assumption Church, 435 Amherst Street in
Buffalo, NY. The main celebrant was Rev. Richard Jedrzejewski, who also gave
the homily. Concelebrants included PRCUA Vice Chaplain Rev. Canon Anthony D.
Iwuc, and Vice Chaplain Very Rev. Msgr. Stanley E. Milewski. Kevin Durkin,
organist, and the choir of Assumption Church inspired everyone with
beautiful music during the Mass. PRCUA dignitaries who processed into the
church included the PRCUA Executive Officers, Directors, Past Officers and
Directors, Vice Chaplains and the Celebrant.
PRCUA
Chaplain Walter J. Ptak was unable to join the Convention until Wednesday as
his beloved sister, Sue Ptak, passed away and was buried on Monday, August
14th. Our condolences to the Ptak Family.
OPENING SESSION - (Photos) On Sunday afternoon, the first business session of the
59th Quadrennial Convention was called to order at the Adam's Mark Hotel,
120 Church Street in Buffalo, NY. The Presidium was elected, including
Convention Chairperson Joan Smuda of Soc. 408; Vice Chairpersons Diane
Karpinski of Soc. 2144 and Julius Szymczyk of Soc. 904, Secretary Kelly
Pilatowski of Soc. 162 and Stenographer Charlene Pasternak of Soc. 261.
BANQUET - (Photos) Beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday evening, a reception was held
at the hotel, followed by a banquet. The PRCUA National Officers, Directors
and Chaplains were introduced by Dr. Mary Lou Turkiewicz, Chairperson of the
Pre-Convention Committee, who also welcomed everyone to the event.
The
Polish and American National Anthems were sung, led by the Chopin Singing
Society.
PRCUA Vice Chaplain Reverend Anthony D. Iwuc gave the Invocation, after
which everyone enjoyed a delicious dinner. Much appreciated entertainment
was provided by the Chopin Singing Society, under the direction of Professor
Thomas Witakowski. Wallace M. Ozog, PRCUA National President, addressed the
assembly, warmly welcoming delegates and friends to the 59th Convention.
Very Reverend Monsignor Stanley Milewski, PRCUA Vice Chaplain, ended the
program with Benediction, after which guests enjoyed dance music by the Mark
Mazur Orchestra.
Thanks
are extended to the Pre-Convention Committee for all the hard work they put
into arranging the details of the 59th Convention in Buffalo, NY. They are:
Dr. Mary Lou Turkiewicz, Chairperson; Gary Kazmierczak; Celia Stachnik;
Beverly Tomasi; and Rita Turkiewicz.
FRATERNAL MEMORIAL MASS AND LUNCHEON - (Photos)
Another social event held in conjunction with the Convention was the
Fraternal Memorial Mass and Luncheon on Tuesday, August 15th, the Feast of
the Assumption at 9:30 a.m. at St. Stanislaus Church, 123 Townsend Street,
Buffalo, NY. The principal celebrant was Bishop Edward U. Kmiec, D.D.,
Bishop of Buffalo. Concelebrants included Bishop Edward M. Grosz, D.D.,
V.G., Auxiliary Bishop of Buffalo and Pastor of St. Stanislaus Parish,
Buffalo, NY; Rev. Canon Anthony D. Iwuc, PRCUA Vice Chaplain from
Providence, RI; Very Rev. Msgr. Stanley E. Milewski, PRCUA Vice Chaplain
from Orchard Lake, MI; and Rev. Timothy Whalen, Rector, Orchard Lake
Schools, Orchard Lake, MI.
During
Mass, memorial presentations were made in remembrance of PRCUA past national
officers, national directors and all PRCUA members who passed away,
especially since the last Convention.
Thanks
are extended to all of the concelebrants, as well as to Professor Thomas
Witakowski and the Chopin Singing Society for enhancing this Mass with their
beautiful singing and music. Readers were from the PRCUA Wesoly Lud Polish
Folk Dance Ensemble; gift bearers were representatives of the PRCUA.
Following Mass, a Fraternal Luncheon was held at the Monsignor Peter Adamski
Social Center at the parish. Entertainment was provided by the PRCUA's
Wesoly Lud Polish Folk Dance Ensemble from Chicago, IL, under the direction
of artistic director Misia Jaminski and choreographer Richard Jaminski. They
did a wonderful job of showcasing Polish folk songs and dances. The PRCUA is
proud of these young men and women and grateful that they shared their
musical talents with delegates and guests.
ELECTION RESULTS - The highlight of the Convention was the election of
national leaders of the PRCUA four-year term of office, which took place on
Tuesday evening a the business session.
PRESIDENT WALLACE OZOG was unopposed and was elected to his third and
final term of office. He had served as Vice President of the PRCUA for
twelve years, from 1986 to 1998 and has been President since 1998. It was
under President Ozog’s leadership that the PRCUA began offering annuities to
its members in 2000, which has proven to be a very successful endeavor. He
has encouraged deputies to obtain their FIC and FICF designations and has
expanded the PRCUA’s sales force. Under his leadership, the Alliance of
Poles of America and the Federation Life Insurance of America have merged
with the PRCUA, thereby increasing membership and adding two more satellite
offices to the PRCUA - in Cleveland, Ohio and Greenfield, Wisconsin.
President Ozog’s focus for the next four years lies in increasing PRCUA
membership.
RESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT ANNA SOKOLOWSKI, who was elected to her second
term of office, also had no opposition. She is in charge of the Fraternal
Department, which includes PRCUA schools and sports events. Upon taking
office four years ago, Mrs. Sokolowski tackled the monumental task of
reorganizing the PRCUA’s methods of compensating its schools. Under her
leadership, meetings were held with the school directors and personnel to
get their input. Rules were established and standards were set forth to
which all schools must now adhere. Thanks to V.P. Sokolowski’s excellent
organizational skills and negotiating abilities, all schools are now treated
and compensated equally. She also revamped the sports programs by insisting
that the membership of all athletes be verified before they participated in
a PRCUA tournament. Anna Sokolowski’s leadership has been an asset to the
PRCUA and will undoubtedly continue to be so for the next four years.
SECRETARY-TREASURER JOSEPHINE (JOYCE) SZAROWICZ, who is entering her
third term of office, also had no opposition. She has served as a national
officer of the PRCUA for the past 20 years as Secretary-Treasurer since
1998, Secretary General from 1990-1998, and as Treasurer from 1986 to 1990.
Before that she also served as Director of District #7 for eight years, from
1978 to 1986. The PRCUA has been an integral part of her life for the past
28 years! Her father, John Zurawski, served as Supervisor of Insurance
District #1 for many years and her family has been involved in the PRCUA for
decades.
Mrs.
Szarowicz is in charge of the General Office and the day-to-day activities
of PRCUA employees. This is a challenging position and under her leadership,
many changes have taken place - the most important of which was the
computerization of the PRCUA office, and its modernization with electronic
capabilities. Of course, that also meant the retraining of all employees,
which falls under Mrs. Szarowicz’s purview. She has done an outstanding job
for the PRCUA in the past and promises to continue to maintain that standard
during the next four years.
NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT ROBERT BIELENDA from Redford, MI, was
originally elected to the Vice-President position in 2002 by the Board of
Directors to fill the vacancy of the office of Vice-President. The vacancy
was created when Vice-Presidential 2002 candidate Richard Misuida passed
away. Mr. Bielenda was officially elected as Vice-President at the 59th
Quadrennial Convention having won over his
only opponent, Steven Cieslicki of Chicago, Illinois, who was completing his
third and final term of office as Director of District 8. Mr. Bielenda is
very active in PRCUA affairs, both locally in Michigan and nationally, and
consistently takes an active part in all PRCUA fraternal events.
Six of
the fourteen PRCUA directors had opposition going into this election,
however some candidates withdrew at the last minute. Elected to the office
of National Director of the PRCUA for 2006-2010 are:
District 1 - Kasimer Zabek of Adams, MA. He is entering his second term
of office and had no opposition. He also served as director from 1982-1990,
when his wife, Frieda, served as director from 1990 to 2002. He is also
President of St. Michael Society #359 and President of District #1 Circuits
and Societies.
District 2 - William Nowakowski of Buffalo, NY, who has been a director
since 1995. His grandfather, Stanislaw Turkiewicz, served as National
President of the PRCUA from 1958-1962 and his wife, Dr. Mary Lou Turkiewicz,
is Chairperson of the Pre-Convention Committee.
District 3 - Joanne I. Zajac of Philadelphia, PA is entering her second
term of office as director and Edward Kaplaniak of Johnstown, PA, is also
entering his second term of office. Neither of them had opposition this
year.
District 4 - Richard Turkiewicz of Winter Springs, FL, is beginning his
second term of office. He is also the grandson of former PRCUA President
Stanislaw Turkiewicz (1958-1962).
District 5 - Joan Sylak of Toledo, OH, was automatically re-elected into
her second term of office when her opponent Mitchell Bienia of Cleveland, OH
withdrew his candidacy.
District 6 - Sharon Haberski of Greenfield, WI, was elected to her third
and final term of office as director. She is very active in Polonia in
Wisconsin and often attends local events sponsored by Districts 7, 8 and/or
9, as well as national PRCUA events.
District 7 - Director Robert Bugielski of Chicago, IL, was automatically
re-elected to his second term of office when Director Joseph Boruta and
candidate Mark Dobrzycki withdrew from the election. He previously served as
Director from 1982 to 1990.
Lillian Stempinski of Niles, IL, was elected to her first term of office as
Director of District #7, thanks to the withdrawal of two opponents. She
previously held that position from 1994-2002, and for the next four years -
even though she was not director - she continued to be very involved in
District #7 affairs by coordinating District #7 events sponsored by the
Illinois-Indiana Women’s Division of the PRCUA and the annual junior bowling
tournaments. Welcome back, Lillian!
District 8 - Krystyna Lech of Palos Park, IL, was elected to her first
term of office as director. She is very active in District #8 affairs as
School Director of the Southwest center of Polish Dancing and Candidate
Coordinator of the Cinderella-Prince Charming Ball sponsored by the M.
Konopnicka Adult Culture Group of which she is a member. She has also served
as an executive officer in District 8.
James Rustik of Woodridge, IL, was elected to his first term of office
as director, following in the footsteps of his wife, Barbara
Sergeant-Rustik, who held that position since 1998. He has served as
president of District 8 for a long time. He defeated Susan Oskvarek in a
run-off election that was held after Krystyna Lech was elected.
District 9 - Elizabeth Grabowski of Crown Point, IN, was re-elected to
her second term of office as director, having defeated Past Director of
District #9 Constance Bonin (1994-2002). Elizabeth is School Director of the
Rafal Kalinowski Polish Dance and Language School in Munster, IN.
District 10 - Barbara (Raczynski) Toboy of Wyandotte, MI, was re-elected
to her third and final term of office as director, having had no opposition.
Barbara has been very active in PRCUA affairs all her life. Her father is
Ralph Raczynski, coordinator of the Polish American Night in Michigan and
President of Pope John Paul II Society.
Thomas Lisiecki of Warren, MI was elected to his first term of office as
director. He had no opposition and replaces Neil Sawicki, who served one
term of office as Director from 2002 to 2006. Tom has been the
teacher/choreographer of the PRCUA Halka Dancers of Detroit, MI, for many
years.
Congratulations to all the officers and directors! Thanks are extended to
the directors leaving office: Steven Cieslicki of District 8 (12 years);
Neil Sawicki of District 10 (4 years); and Joseph Boruta of District 7, (4
years).
Our
PRCUA Chaplains are: National Chaplain -Reverend Walter J. Ptak, Pastor of
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Wyandotte, MI, who was elected to his
second term as Chaplain. He served as Vice Chaplain for eight years, from
1994 to 2002. First Vice Chaplain is Rev. Canon Anthony D. Iwuc of
Providence, RI, who was re-elected to his sixth term of office. He served as
Chaplain for 12 years, from 1974 to 1986 and has served as Vice Chaplain
since 1986. Second Vice Chaplain is Monsignor Stanley E. Milewski of Orchard
Lake. MI, who was re-elected to his second term of office. Congratulations
to our beloved chaplains. We appreciate their spiritual guidance.
ELECTION RESULTS
VICE
PRESIDENT
Robert Bielenda 137 Steven Cieslicki 108
A total of 245 delegates participated in this election; 245 voted and two
abstained.
DISTRICT 5 (ONE DIRECTOR)
Joan Sylak Mitchell Bienia (withdrew)
DISTRICT 7 (TWO DIRECTORS)
Joseph Boruta (withdrew) Robert Bugielski
Mark Dobrzycki (withdrew) Lillian Stempinski
DISTRICT 8 (TWO DIRECTORS)
Krystyna Lech 145
Run-off election:
James Rustik 119 Susan Oskvarek 106
DISTRICT 9 (ONE DIRECTOR)
Elizabeth Grabowski 131 Constance Bonin 110
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!
Information about the Convention and election statistics were provided by
William Seranko, who is responsible for its accuracy. |
