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October 3, 2005 |
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Dear Readers,
Autumn is officially here!
Everyone loves crisp days and bright fall colors. Get away from the hustle
and bustle of the city, unwind and enjoy the spectacular Autumn leaves in
the countryside. Enjoy driving the peaceful rural roads; observe the annual
bird migration that fills the sky. Visit apple orchards, farm markets, relax
and experience the beauty of this season. Let’s celebrate autumn, Indian
summer picnics, cookouts, tailgate gatherings, football games, and cozy
nights by the bonfire, apple and pumpkin gatherings, bountiful Thanksgivings
and more.
As many of you know from my
last articles, I was in Poland during the summer. I am always interested in
what is new in Poland, especially when it comes to insurance. For many
years, in Poland, life insurance was a taboo. During the communist rule it
was not widely available. After the fall of communism, more and more
domestic and foreign insurance companies began offering life insurance
coverage and more Poles began to think about the future of their loved ones
after their death. Still, compared with the Western World, only a very small
percentage of Poles had any kind of life insurance.
In the last few years the statistics of Poles purchasing life insurance has
rocketed. Today, more and more people are talking about it and taking out
life insurance coverage. Poles are discovering the charms of life insurance
or, like one of my relatives put it, “how to make your death more
comfortable for your relatives.” Those that did not have a life insurance
had a range of reasons, from sheer ignorance or apathy to a sense that
pension or help from their children will be enough. Also today,
surprisingly, many Poles are bit embarrassed to admit that they had taken
out a life insurance policy.
Insurance companies in Poland are trying very hard to educate its costumer
about the benefits and importance of life insurance. They want to make sure
that the loved ones are taken care of when they die. To help the customers
understand their insurance, they are communicating with them in everyday
language and listening to what they say. The insurance sales people work
with the individuals and help them design a complete protection plan that is
tailored to their lifestyle, as well as their budget. More and more Polish
entrepreneurs, state officials and show-biz celebrities are becoming
conscious of their financial value and many of them are used as an
advertisement tool in the insurance industry.
Our organization, PRCUA,
for over 132 years has been providing service to our members. We also are
trying very hard to educate our customers about the importance of life
insurance. Our stability, strength, fraternal benefits, expertise and
experience is our cornerstone. Our deputies or insurance sales professionals
will work with you and advise you about what to look for, so you can get
great coverage at the price you can afford. Our organization will maintain a
very close relationship with you and will provide prompt and courteous
service. PRCUA offers great and affordable insurance products, including
Annuities and IRA’s. Please call our Home Office in Chicago, Ohio,
Philadelphia or Wisconsin Offices or your local deputy for a quote. Check
PRCUA web-site for all the additional information and the latest news at:
http://www.prcua.org/. We hope to hear from you soon!
During the month of August
and September I attended many functions. I will briefly share with you where
I have been:
In August the Annual Polka
Music Hall of Fame and Music Award Banquet was held in Oak Brook, Illinois.
It was nice to see so many polka lovers, polka bands and vocalists from all
over the country. Our congratulations to all the Polka Music Award winners,
especially PRCUA members, among them the very young and handsome Ryan
Ogrodny. Ryan is also among this year’s recipient of PRCUA scholarship.
Later that month the Annual
Orchard Lake Ladies Days was held on the property of Orchard Lake Seminary
in Orchard Lake, Michigan. Over 400 guests attended that fundraising event
and the PRCUA organization was well represented. Special thank you to Rev,
Msgr. Stanley Milewski, PRCUA Vice-Chaplain, who invited Mrs. Virginia
Sikora, PWA President, Sharon Zago, PWA Vice-President and me for
cappuccino. The coffee was delicious and the visit was delightful,
especially looking at the large collection of photos of our late Holy
Father, John Paul II. Thank you to Mrs. Sikora, who was so gracious to make
all travel arrangements.
The 51st National Softball
Tournament, hosted by St. Thaddeus Society #1584 was held in Toledo, Ohio on
Saturday August 27, 2005. A special thank you goes to Paul Wenzel, Tom
Krasniewski the Committee and to Soc. #1584 for organizing this tournament.
We are very grateful that we have societies that want to host PRCUA
tournaments. It takes lots of work, volunteers and expertise to make those
tournaments successful. Thank you again, and the Fraternal Department is
looking forward to work with you again in the near future.
Polish Museum of America
held its 2nd Annual Cultural Boat Tour and Fund Raiser on August 29, 2005.
The highlight of the tour was the performance of PRCUA “Wesoly Lud” dancers
under the direction of Misia and Richard Jaminski. The dancers did a
wonderful job dancing as the boat sailed through the gentle waves on Lake
Michigan. The Polish music, the dances, delicious food and wonderful company
made this cruise very memorable. Special thank you to Misia Jaminski,
Artistic Director of Wesoly Lud, who made sure that all the guest on the
cruise were aware that Mark and I were celebrating our 35th Wedding
Anniversary that night. Thank you all for your wonderful best wishes and for
singing STO LAT!
The month of September was
also busy with all the school openings and various activities.
On the 8-10 of September,
2005, the 119 Annual Meeting of the National Fraternal Congress of America
was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The theme of this year’s meeting was
“Fraternalism is Our Difference”. The workshop sessions were designed to
help and revitalize our fraternal organization, reinforce our fraternal
history, our fraternal identity and purpose. It featured many motivational
speakers. I would like to share with you few words of wisdom that I heard at
this meeting. First of all, “word of mouth” is the best advertisement and
the highest recommendation that you can give to our organization. Nothing
brings new members into our organization as much as the recommendation of
active members. Secondly, we have to know who we are and if we do not know
that, we will get nowhere. You cannot argue or disagree with your client –
you will get nowhere. You must be always accurate and always tell the truth
about the products that you are presenting to your clients. Know your
products and stress the difference from your competitors. Keep your mind
open, listen to their needs. Thirdly, strive to make membership in our
organization desirable and not just a requirement. It is important that you
continue rekindling relationship with your clients. Fourthly, and very
important point, is that we are a FRATERNAL organization – stress the
difference from the commercial insurance companies and us. Make sure that
you involve the new members in your society functions. Remember,
fraternalize.
As a fraternal
organization, we face many challenges, especially maintaining our visibility
and staying in close contact with our Congressional representation,
especially with tax-exemption battle. It is extremely important that our
members of Congress know who we are and what we do. Invite members of
Congress to attend many of your fraternal functions and show them or
familiarize them with our activities.
Every September PRCUA
District #7 sponsors an Annual Fishing Derby for youngsters. This year was
not different, as many youngsters with their parents, grandparents and
friends enjoyed fishing at the Busse Lake, near the city of Chicago. The
weather was gorgeous, sunny with light wind. The youngsters were awarded
prizes for the most fish caught and for the largest fish caught. Later
everyone enjoyed delicious hot dogs and soft drinks. It was a fun filled day
for all of us.
In September, the Second
Annual Benefit Dinner for the Bishop Abramowicz Seminary was held. This year
we were celebrating the 6th Anniversary of the Bishop Abramowicz Seminary
and honoring Most Rev. Thad Jakubowski, DD with the annual Caritas Christi
Award. This award is presented annually to person, parish, group or
institution that exemplifies the openness to diversity in ministry,
sensitivity to culture, giving of self and service to Polonia and
Archdiocese of Chicago that Bishop Abramowicz Seminary inculcates in its
students. We Congratulate Bishop Jakubowski upon receiving this prestigious
award and continue to offer prayerful wishes to the seminarians from Poland.
There are now 10 priests ordained for the Archdiocese of Chicago, who are
graduates of Bishop Abramowicz Seminary. All of them were born in Poland and
have come to United States to complete their seminary studies here and serve
as priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
BIRTHDAY WISHES
Happy Birthday to all who
are celebrating Birthdays in October, especially to PRCUA employees: Mariola
Wysocka who works in the Auditing Department, Judy Hoffman, who works in the
membership department and Helena Glinczak who does the maintenance work in
our offices. Also let’s sing Happy Birthday to Joan C. Sylak PRCUA National
Director of District # 5, John Frankowicz, of Maria Konopnicka’s Adult
Culture Group; Henryka Jablonska, past principal of Maria Konopnicka Polish
Language School; Martha Kwiatt, past National Director of District #8; Ted
Klamerus, Michigan’s PRCUA insurance supervisor; Rev, Gerald Grupczynski,
pastor of Five Holy Martyrs Church and Chaplain of District # 8; Richard
Ciesla, husband of PMA President, Maria Ciesla. Wishing you all the happy
things a birthday celebration brings. Sto Lat!
Speaking of Birthdays, I
would like to extend my sincere THANK YOU to all the employees, friends and
family and to all who remembered me on my birthday. Thank you so much for
all your good wishes, exquisite flowers, cards,e-mails, gifts and presenting
me with the absolutely delicious cake! Special “Thank you “to PRCUA National
Vice –Chaplain – Rev. Anthony Iwuc for beautiful card and Mass offering. I
was very touched by all your good wishes and your thoughtfulness is truly
appreciated. Thank you.
CONDOLENCES
Heartfelt sympathy is
extended to PRCUA Secretary/Treasurer, Josephine Szarowicz upon the death of
her beloved Father, John Zurawski. May God comfort you and give you strength
in this most difficult time. You and your family are in our thoughts and
prayers. May he rest in eternal peace.
GET WELL WISHES
We wish speedy recovery to
Geraldine Kowalski, President of Illinois/Indiana Women’s Division and
Regina Ocwieja, past PRCUA Vice-President. We are thinking of you, praying
and hoping you feel better soon!
CONGRATULATIONS
Our sincere Congratulations
to Rev. Francis Rog, C.R. on the 50th Anniversary of Ordination to the
Ministry of Priesthood. Rev. Francis Rog is now an associate pastor of St.
Hyacinth Basilica in Chicago. God Bless you Fr. Frank!
MARRIAGE NEWS! - Our
sincere congratulations to the newly married couple – Diana (Kuta) and
Steven Rogus who were married on September 3rd, 2005 in St. Charles,
Illinois. Best wishes to you both, remember, there are few things in life as
important as love, and nothing as important as trust. Make trust the
foundation of your marriage, the cornerstones faith, love, humor, and
forgiveness, and the life you build will be solid and strong. May your
honeymoon never end!
WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!
- Happy 25th Wedding Anniversary to Polish Women’s Alliance General
Secretary Grazyna Migala and her husband George. May your special day be
filled with happiness and love. May God Bless your lives.
Until next time, take care
and keep in touch. Send your comments, ideas, news to asokolowski@prcua.org.
or call1-800-772-8632 ext.2643. Hope to hear from you soon! |
