News

From the desk of the Supreme Secretary
by Scott T. Pogorelec, F.I.C.
A MEANINGFUL DAY

On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress participated in a formal session to vote on the independence of our Nation. The rest of the day and the next were spent debating over the form and content of a declaration drafted by Thomas Jefferson. Several changes were made, and the final document was adopted on July 4, 1776. As President of the Congress, John Hancock was the first to sign and on July 8th, the Declaration was first read publicly in Philadelphia. By August 2, 1776, some fifty members of Congress had signed the document and over the next several months, others followed suit. The Declaration of Independence is the most important document in our history and July 4th allows us the opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the meaning of this special document and the men who created it.

While being an important American holiday, July 4th is also a special day for the Slovak Catholic Sokol. It was on that day in 1905 that 46 young Slovak immigrants gathered in Passaic, NJ and decided to form a new organization celebrating Sokol traditions. Just as our American Forefathers had, hope had to permeate through those meetings. Since they wanted to be patriotic Americans and were grateful to the United States for the opportunity to begin a new life, they selected the Fourth of July in 1905, the 129th anniversary of American independence, to enable their dreams to become reality. In addition to our Sokol traditions of good sportsmanship and fraternalism, our organization also addressed the need to provide financial security for its members. This year’s Fourth of July, we will celebrate the 120th anniversary of our organization’s founding. Many societies have been founded among various immigrant groups, but few have survived and prospered over the years. It is with immense pride that we continue to promote the high ideals of fraternalism which inspired our organization’s founders 120 years ago. Generations of Sokol members have worked and promoted our great society and today we are financially sound and hope for your continued support.

As our sports season is underway, we most recently completed our Heritage Slet at Peek ‘n Peak Resort in Clymer, NY. Everyone had a wonderful time and fraternalism shone brightly. Thank you to the Supreme Physical Fitness Board for their planning and work as we embraced change and made sure our members enjoyed themselves.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Karen Bakita of S-167, Barberton, OH on receiving the Frank S. Petruff Memorial Sports Award at our most recent Bowling Tournament. Sister Bakita is certainly deserving of this tribute as he has been a loyal attendee for many years at our sporting events. Congratulations again and all the best to you, Sister Karen!

I look forward to seeing many of you at our International Golf Tournament on August 8th-10th in West Middlesex, PA at Oak Tree Golf Club. For more information, you can check our website or contact our Director of Sports and Athletics, Kathleen S. Watkins, and she will be glad to assist you.

In this issue we are fortunate to see the smiling faces of our 2025 Scholarship Recipients. On behalf of our Organization and our Board of Directors, I would like to congratulate all our winners. We hope that you continue to make us all proud and continue to be wonderful ambassadors of the Slovak Catholic Sokol.

Finally, I would like to wish all our Sokol Dads a Happy Father’s Day, which we celebrated on June 15th! Happy Father’s Day Dad! May God bless you all!

Until next time, I hope all our members have a wonderful Fourth of July Holiday, Happy Canada Day to all our Canadian Sokol Members, and I hope to see many of you at our upcoming events. Have a wonderful summer!

Stay safe, stay strong, and
STAY POSITIVE!
Zdar Boh!