September 2019
Dear Friends,
In 1873, our founders met in Detroit to establish an organization that would bring the new immigrants from our motherland under one united front. This fraternal would help its members keep the shared customs, heritage and culture alive and thriving in their new homeland, the United States. Over the past 146 years, this organization has evolved into the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America of the 21st century. We can proudly state that we are members of one of the oldest fraternal organizations in this country, as well as the mother of all Polish fraternals. As the title of this newspaper, Naród Polski, states – we are the Polish Nation.
It has been a year since I was elected to the office of President of the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America and wanted to give you an update. The PRCUA continues to be very strong financially, but we need your help to maintain and grow our organization. We need our members, who read this periodical to spread the word about the great things that our fraternal does. We look to you to reach out to your families, your neighbors and friends to join us and become members of the PRCUA. You may ask, how can I help? You can share this paper, the Naród Polski, with them, tell them how you became a member and share memories you have of being a member. By sharing these personal thoughts and memories, you will possibly ignite in them a feeling that they would like to join an organization that shares a common thread with them either by being Polish, Roman Catholic or of community service. The personal touch is what matters, since there is a comfort level that they have with you that might entice them to join the PRCUA.
There are many levels at which you can participate. Many of you are members from birth – your grandparent or parents “signed you up” because they were members. You may have been a student at a Polish language school or dance school as a small child. This is how I was brought into the organization, as a member of a dance group. If you are interested in joining an existing school, or starting a school in your area, please contact our Home Office and our staff will provide you with the information you would need to begin the process. If that is not the avenue you would like to pursue, we also have established sporting events that may interest you. The PRCUA offers five different sport tournaments for our members to participate in: basketball, bowling, golf, softball and volleyball. Our basketball tournament celebrated its 85th anniversary this past spring. The PRCUA, upon request of our members, added volleyball in 2017. The sport tournaments are a great way to meet members from across the country in a casual and welcoming atmosphere. The events are sponsored by local societies with the assistance of our Fraternal Department. If you are interested in participating in or sponsoring a sport tournament, please contact our Fraternal Department for information.
If neither cultural nor athletic events are what you are looking for, please contact your local society to see what you can do to help in your area. Part of being a fraternal organization is giving back to your community. If you and other members of your society assist in doing good for your community, let us know what it is you are doing. Whether packing food packages for the less fortunate, assisting in a clean-up of a park or river front or helping with the painting or refurbishing of a school, tell us at the Home Office so we can share the good that is being done by our members with our entire community.
On the national level, the PRCUA continues the search to fill two open positions on our Board of Directors. The two openings are in the northeastern areas of the United States: District 1 – New England and District 3 – Pennsylvania. I am reaching out to members in those areas to consider applying for the open positions. A member of the Board of Directors is a vital position in the organization. They are responsible for the overall fiduciary position of the organization. A director must have a background in business with an understanding of investing, accounting, sales or marketing. If you are a member that resides in one of these areas and are interested in applying, please contact my office for more information at president@prcua.org.
Next, I will touch upon our financial products. Please review your life insurance coverage. Funeral costs can range from $10,000 to $15,000. Do you have enough life insurance to cover you so your family does not need to carry that additional financial burden? If you have life insurance at your job, it may not carry over into retirement, or if your only PRCUA policy is from when you were born, it may not be enough. Like most people, we live in the moment. Please consider reviewing what you have and if you are in need of additional coverage, contact the PRCUA Sales Department for additional life insurance coverage.
If you do not need additional coverage, you may want to purchase an annuity through the PRCUA for your retirement. The PRCUA has been offering a very competitive special on our annuity product for 2019. For a minimum deposit of a $1000, we are offering a guaranteed 3.75% APY. As compared to what is being offered on savings account or CDs, PRCUA’s annuities offer higher rates and allow for tax deferred growth! See page 7 for more information. Lastly, I will mention the revitalization of our organization. We need to look within our local organizations for our replacements to ensure succession and continuation of our efforts. It may be hard to accept changes, but sometimes changes are needed to stimulate growth. Not everyone wants to attend a banquet or dinner dance. I ask that everyone be open to ideas that may attract more members to our beloved PRCUA.
Remember: “Get involved, stay involved and get others involved.”
Thank you for your membership and attention.
James J. Robaczewski, ALMI, FIC, ACS National President
