The Inaugural Mass & 145th Celebration of the PRCUA took place this past Sunday on September 9th. It was a beautiful event, the sun shone done on the bright costumes of the participating students in their Polish folk costumes and on the elegant attire of the incoming and outgoing Executive Officers and Directors. The smiles of those attending were just as bright and the day was filled with breathtaking music, delicious food, and colorful dancing.
Congratulations to the newly elected officers and directors of the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America for the years 2018-2022:
Rev. Canon Walter J. Ptak – National Chaplain
James J. Robaczewski – National President
Micheline I. Jaminski – National Vice-President
Agnieszka J. Bastrzyk – National Secretary Treasurer
Louis Perfetto, Jr. – District 2 Director
Patrick Kosowski – District 4 Director
Mitchell Bienia – District 5 Director
Thomas Jesionowski – District 5 Director
Andrew Lech – District 6 Director
Anna Krysinski – District 7 Director
Myron Cislo – District 8 Director
Elizabeth Dynowski – District 8 Director
Elizabeth Sadus – District 9 Director
Colleen Bonkowski – District 10 Director
Courtney Ozog – District 10 Director
On August 9, the PRCUA will welcome delegates to the 62nd Polish Roman Catholic Union of America National Quadrennial Convention at the Edward Hotel and Convention Center in Dearborn, Michigan.
PRCUA Vice President Emeritus Robert Bielenda is the Pre-Convention Committee Chairman and St. Stan’s Society #718 of Detroit, Michigan is the Host Society of the 62nd PRCUA Quadrennial Convention.
The Convention provides a valuable opportunity for members to come together as delegates to continue the work of our fraternal organization and to learn about the important changes and plans that will affect the Union on both local and national levels. The election of a new governing body of the PRCUA will take place. These leaders will be tasked with guiding and planning for the future of the PRCUA. May our Patron, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, bless the delegates and their deliberations,
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9
12:00 – 8:00 p.m. DELEGATE REGISTRATION, Lobby-Convention Registration,
Edward Hotel, 600 Town Center Drive, Dearborn, Michigan
7:00 – 10:00 p.m. PRE-CONVENTION HOSPITALITY RECEPTION sponsored by
PRCUA, location TBA
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10 Watch Stream on YouTube
7:00 – 9:00 a.m. CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST, Great Lakes Room B & E, Edward Hotel
8:00 – 9:30 a.m. DELEGATE REGISTRATION, Lobby-Convention Registration, Edward Hotel
10:00 a.m. BUSES LEAVE for St Sebastian Parish
11:00 a.m. OPENING MASS, St. Sebastian Parish, 20710 Colgate, Dearborn Heights, MI
Following Mass LUNCHEON, St. Sebastian Parish
3:00 – 9:00 p.m. 1ST OFFICIAL BUSINESS SESSION of the 62nd PRCUA Quadrennial
Convention, Edward Hotel, Great Lakes Center Rooms C, D & F
TBA Break for Dinner
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11 Watch Stream on YouTube
7:00 a.m. MASS Edward Hotel, Great Lakes Center Rooms C, D & F
7:00 – 9:00 a.m. BREAKFAST BUFFET, Great Lakes Room B & E, Edward Hotel
8:00 – 5:30 p.m. DELEGATE REGISTRATION, Lobby-Convention Registration, Edward Hotel
9:00 – 5:00 p.m. 2ND OFFICIAL BUSINESS SESSION, Edward Hotel, Great Lakes Center
Rooms C, D & F
TBA LUNCH, Great Lakes Room B & E, Edward Hotel
6:30 p.m. COCKTAILS, Edward Hotel, Grand Ballroom Foyer
7:30 p.m. BANQUET DINNER, Edward Hotel, Grand Ballroom
SUNDAY, AUGUST 12 Watch Stream on YouTube
7:00 – 9:00 a.m. BREAKFAST BUFFET, Great Lakes Room B & E, Edward Hotel
9:00 a.m. FRATERNAL MASS, Edward Hotel, Great Lakes Center Rooms C, D & F
10:30 – 1:00 p.m. 3RD OFFICIAL BUSINESS SESSION, Edward Hotel, Great Lakes Center
Rooms C, D & F
1:00 p.m. FRATERNAL LUNCHEON, Great Lakes Room B & E, Edward Hotel
TBA ELECTIONS
TBA BREAK FOR DINNER
MONDAY, AUGUST 13
7:00 a.m. MASS, Edward Hotel, Great Lakes Center Rooms C, D & F
7:00 – 9:00 a.m. CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST, Great Lakes Room B & E, Edward Hotel
TBA 4TH OFFICIAL BUSINESS SESSION, Edward Hotel, Great Lakes Center
Rooms C, D & F
Thank you LOT Polish Airlines and Midwest Regional Sales Director Magdalena Pantelis for all your assistance in getting PRCUA WESOŁY LUDEK from Chicago to Rzeszów! PRCUA WESOŁY LUDEK is attending the 10. Polonian Festival of Children’s Folk Ensembles in Iwonicz Zdrój for the 5th time!!!
Announcing a PRCUA Youth & Young Adult Essay Contest!
Every organization, including the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, needs to focus on reaching the next generation. If we do not, it is likely we will not, and even more likely that we will eventually cease to exist.
It is the youth and young adults who will lead us into the future.
It is necessary for the health of the PRCUA and society as a whole for us to reach out to younger members, to teach them about our organization and to get them actively involved in the life of the PRCUA. We must involve them in our plans for the future.
At each PRCUA Convention, the Youth Committee presents a report to the delegates, offering advice on how this can be accomplished. In the past, many of their ideas have been adopted.
One of the recommendations of the 61st PRCUA Quadrennial Convention Youth/Young Adult Committee was to have an essay contest on the subject before the 62nd Convention.
The Youth Committee, headed by the PRCUA’s National Director, Elizabeth Sadus of District #9, is inviting all PRCUA members between the ages of 16 to 35 years to participate in the 62nd PRCUA Quadrennial Convention Essay Contest.
We want to hear your opinions, new ideas, and new ways by which the PRCUA can get our young people more involved in our organization.
• 500 words or less.
• The contest is open to all PRCUA members, ages 16 to 35 years.
• Applicants must provide well developed ideas or events that will encourage themselves or their peers to want to become more involved in the PRCUA.
• Two age categories: 16 to 25 years & 26 to 35 years.
• One winner will be chosen in each age category.
• The winning essay will be judged by the Young Adult
Committee and winners will be announced at the Convention.
Let us know your thoughts on how PRCUA can best serve you and future generations!
Submit your essays to: PRCUA Essay Contest, Dir. Elizabeth Sadus, 847 Marion Way, Chicago Hts., IL 60411 or by email to marketing@prcua.org.
Let Your Voice and Opinions Be Heard!Let Your Voice and Opinions Be Heard!
The Polish Roman Catholic Union of America and The Polish Museum of America had the distinct honor of hosting the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, along with First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda during a momentous visit to our historic building on Friday, May 18, 2018. During their visit, President Joseph Drobot, Vice President Micheline Jaminski, and Secretary Treasurer James Robaczewski were proud to show them through the boardroom and offices while giving them a short history of our organization. The PMA President Richard Owsiany and Managing Director Malgorzata Kot then led them through the beautiful museum, where they enjoyed themselves viewing artifacts and artwork that punctuates important moments for the Polish and Polish American communities. Both organizations were immensely pleased with their visit; it was a great honor to have such distinguished guests walk our halls.
The 81st National PRCUA Bowling Tournament took place over the weekend of April 13-15 in Warren, MI and was a striking success! Congratulations to all our winners and thank you to everyone who participated. Thank you also to Society #1593 and all the workers and volunteers that made this such a great event!
For photos, visit our Facebook.
Poland’s culture is rich in traditions that celebrate the coming of spring and the Easter season. While some of these customs are still practiced, they have morphed over time to reflect the present along with the past.
The drowning of Marzanna occurs on the first day of spring. It is an old pagan ritual in which an effigy of a woman, often made of straw, is first burned, then thrown into the river. The word marzanna comes from the word marznąć and the ritual symbolizes the end of the cold, harsh months of winter and the beginning of the spring season. Today, kids or scouts usually continue the tradition in Poland.
Śmigus Dyngus is celebrated on Easter Monday in Poland, which both a religious and national holiday in the country. On this day, young people throw water at others, which symbolizes a renewed baptism. Long ago, it was also one of the ways men would court women.
Celebrated on Easter Monday, teenage boys would tie a rooster to a two-wheeled cart and parade from house to house through the village with it. As the rooster crowed, the boys poked girls with specially-made skewers and sang songs. The rooster symbolized male vitality and the way men courted women. It also was thought to bring health to the family. As time passed, a rooster made of clay or dough replaced a live one. A rooster is called kogut in Polish and the word kogucik is a diminutive form of the word.
The gaik is an old Slavic tradition dating back to pagan times, whereby people would make a large decoration of greenery and walk through the village to greet spring. It is still practiced in some villages in Poland and other Slavic countries today. Gaik derives from the word gaj, or grove, that was oftentimes enclosed so that intruders would not enter.
Joseph is a popular name in Poland. Because the feast day falls during Lent, Poles celebrating St. Joseph’s names day (imieniny) would prepare a feast of meatless dishes and decorate their houses with white and red, as well as with holy cards and candles around the food. Church hymns on this day include: Duszo moja, O Jozefie Ukochany, and Szczesliwy, Kto Sobie Patrona. As early as the 10th Century, March 19 was dedicated as St. Joseph’s Feast Day in many calendars.
PRCUA staff celebrating St. Joseph’s Day with a traditional St. Joseph’s Table luncheon.
Enjoy your Spring and remember your roots by celebrating one of these age old customs!
-Written by Conrad Wiecek
At PRCUA this year, 145 is an important number. That is how many years we’ve been a part of the Polish American community and to celebrate this wonderful mile stone, we are offering a life insurance special.
This affordable coverage will last a lifetime and offers you the protection your family deserves.
* Builds cash value
* Available up to age 62
* Generally, no medical exam required 1
* Dividend participating
* Other payment modes available
Don’t wait to take advantage of this celebratory special! Call us today!
Agnieszka Bastrzyk
Director of Marketing
773-782-2632
agnieszka-bastrzyk@prcua.org
Robert Fattore
Director of Sales
773-782-2631
robert-fattore@prcua.org
1 – All applications are subject to underwriting and must be postmarked by December 31, 2018. Cannot be combined with other offers.
Dear Members and Friends,
In last year’s message, I reported to you that the PRCUA Board of Directors had formed a Corporate Governance Committee to review the method by which the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America is governed and to determine if any changes to this governance should be made.
The Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, as a fraternal benefit company, is subject to the regulations imposed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The NAIC is composed of State Insurance Commissioners whose responsibility is to assure the sound management of the respective insurance companies.
Although not presently mandated, but strongly suggested, the NAIC wants to see changes in the top level of management of fraternal benefit societies. Their intended management model is to mirror corporate America by electing directors from the organization’s membership. It would then be the directors’ responsibility to hire the professional executive management team (President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer). The intention is to provide professional leadership through the screening of qualified applicants for the various executive positions. It also provides the ability of the Board of Directors to make changes should the executive officers fail in their respective duties and obligations.
As we know, the PRCUA elects its officers and directors every four years at its Quadrennial Convention. Candidates for office may or may not have the necessary educational or life experiences to properly direct the business, financial, and insurance affairs of the organization. Our Constitution allows anyone who has been a member in good standing for five years, without a criminal record, to be eligible for election.
Since the Great Recession of 2007-08, because of the subsequent slow economic recovery, the increasing demands of state regulatory insurance departments, the increased need to focus on financial markets, the changing demographics and overall challenging business climate, many fraternal organizations have failed and thus have been merged. Much of that failure is due to the fact that the directors and officers did not recognize and adjust to these changing conditions.
For that reason, this Corporate Governance Committee was formed.
Questions discussed throughout the year by this Committee and the Board of Directors included:
At every board meeting, each of these questions was actively debated.
At the December meeting, the Board of Directors voted to continue the present form of governance wherein the Officers and Directors are elected by convention delegates every four years and to keep the number of Directors or the number of Districts of the PRCUA.
Continuation of this form of governance removes any discussion of a separate Fraternal Governing Board.
The Board of Directors did, however, address higher education, work, and life experience considerations as a requirement of qualification for its elected Officers and Directors.
The additional qualifications for the President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer and Director are outlined on page 12 of this issue of the Naród Polski.
These changes should help to improve the quality of candidates that are chosen to manage and direct our organization.
However, in my opinion, the position taken by the NAIC is the correct one: that the Constitution of the PRCUA must be changed to create a form of governance that adapts to the more complex and demanding business regulatory and insurance industry environment.
In last year’s State of the Union message, we indicated to you that our new products – FINAL EXPENSE and SIMPLIFIED ISSUE – were being successfully accepted by our fraternal and independent agents as viable industry issues. We also indicated that efforts to encourage sales through independent agents are working.
Both efforts, new products and independent agents, were highly successful in 2017 in increasing the insurance premium income, increasing new membership to the PRCUA, and increasing the total face amount of new insurance written.
Annualized New Insurance Premium
In 2016: New Insurance premium……………………. $1,041,950
In 2017: New insurance premium……………………. $1,469,557
New Members
In 2016: New members………………………………………325
In 2017: New members………………………………………865
New Face Amount of Insurance Written
In 2016: …………………………………………..$11,289,435
In 2017: …………………………………………..$38,679,487
Our Director of Sales, Robert Fattore, after much effort, is successful in engaging the independent agents to represent and sell PRCUA products.
Fraternal and Home Office insurance sales continue on a constant pace but are now exceeded by the growth of sales from the independent agent.
The PRCUA continues to promote and solicit sales from our fraternal agents but the ranks are declining and recruiting new fraternal agents has not been fruitful.One area that is proving to be a success is the recruitment of Fraternal Field Organizers (FFO). The PRCUA now has three FFOs working in the field promoting our organization. It is a part-time paid position requiring a licensed individual to promote our organization in select geographical areas. FFOs are now working in Georgia, Florida and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The PRCUA is constantly looking for more individuals to represent us and are encouraging you to research this unique opportunity. For more information, please call Bob Fattore at 773-782-2631 or 800-772-8632 ext. 2631. You can also email Bob at robert-fattore@prcua.org
The Annuity Rollover Program, initiated in 2016, has been completed. Matured annuity contracts were successfully rolled over into a longer term contract, satisfying regulatory directives. These contracts received a one year above-market rate bonus and then adjusted to the current market rate.
The PRCUA is sensitive to changes in the money and interest rate environment. We are constantly monitoring both our ability to earn a satisfactory return from our asset portfolio and to return a favorable income to our annuity members.
Our operating income for 2017 is reported at $265,580, down from $429,757 that was attained in 2016. Unfortunately, a significant reason for this is the decline of approximately $350,000 in reduced income from our bond and stock investment portfolio. Financial market conditions caused many of our higher-earning bonds to be called away, leaving the PRCUA with excess money to invest at lower interest rates.
Hopefully, 2018 will provide better opportunities for higher investment returns. Other factors affecting our results are the costs related to acquiring new members, i.e. commissions, promotions, new product development etc. Our dividend declared by the Board of Directors will be $152,400. This is approximately the same amount as paid in 2016.
A major event for the PRCUA in 2017 was the sale of vacant land owned by the PRCUA. This property was on Walton Street, adjacent to our headquarters. By a majority vote of the Board of Directors, sale of this property and other net realized capital gains amounted to a net gain of $3,069,256. This profit has been retained and added to our surplus account to provide financial stability for all PRCUA members.
In 2010, this surplus account was at a low point of $3,600,000. It is now- within seven years – back to the level reported in 2007. As can be seen in the financial statements, our surplus is at $11,833,894. This will safely provide a necessary cushion for the PRCUA should another financial crisis occur.
I am proud of the action taken by our Board of Directors in approving this sale. It ensures the financial strength and solvency of our Union.
Our building is 105 years old and has been in need of extensive improvement for a long time. Over the last seven years, the PRCUA has expended over $2,000,000 to make these necessary repairs and upgrades.These include:
I am proud to state that we have been able to do all of this and still improve the overall financial strength of our Union.
We call attention to the 2018 Convention to be held on August 10 to 13, 2018 in Dearborn, Michigan. We ask those representative delegates, who will have the responsibility of electing the next governing body of the PRCUA, to closely and carefully review the credentials of all candidates and wisely select those who best represent dedication to the PRCUA and a determination to work toward making the PRCUA the best fraternal organization.
It has been my pleasure to have served as your President throughout these past eight years and I sincerely thank you for this wonderful experience. I hope I have fulfilled the objectives that you had expected when you voted for me in 2010 and 2014.
I am stepping down as your President and, although eligible, I will not seek a third term.
THANK YOU
Your Board of Directors, Officers, and employees all thank you for your continued membership in the PRCUA.
God bless you and God bless the POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC UNION OF AMERICA.
Joseph A. Drobot, Jr.
National President
