News

From the desk of the Supreme Secretary
by Scott T. Pogorelec, F.I.C.
LIFE INSURANCE AWARENESS

As the summer months come to an end and we transition into autumn, this is always a suitable time to do a life checklist. One of those items on that checklist should be answering if you have enough life insurance coverage. September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. It is an industry wide campaign designed to educate Americans about the importance of life insurance and helping them get the coverage they need. In honor of this month, I urge all our members to examine your current life insurance and find out if you are adequately covered. Unfortunately, I can tell you that most of our membership is under insured, but we can fix that. If you have any questions and need assistance, please contact our Home Office at (800) 886- 7656, and we would be more than happy to assist you. Remember, life insurance coverage protects the people that are most valuable to you, your loved ones!

We were happy to see all the smiling faces that attended the Heritage Slet in July at Peek ‘n Peak Resort in Clymer, NY. A special thank you to our Supreme Physical Director, Dusan Dorich, our Supreme Physical Directress, Katie Swift, and all who had a hand in planning and executing this wonderful fraternal event.

Congratulations to all our flight winners at the recent 71st International Golf Tournament held in East Stroudsburg, PA. A wonderful time was had by all and the spirit of fraternalism shone brightly. Thank you to our Director of Sports and Athletics, Kathleen Watkins, and her entire staff for their efforts to make this wonderful event a success. A big congratulations to our 2026 Frank S. Petruff Award winner, James C. Matlon, from S-024, Boonton, NJ. As we can all agree, Brother James is most deserving of this special award for his life-long service to our organization. Congratulations Brother Jim!

Brother President and I are extremely excited for our Group Presidents Meeting to be held on October 24, 2026, in Pittsburgh, PA, at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott. This important meeting will be held in-conjunction with our 3rd Quarter Board of Director’s Meeting. Among the many items that will be up for discussion will be our 35th Quadrennial Convention, which will also be held at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott. We will be diving into our Board Governance and look forward to hearing from all our Group Presidents. We look forward to this being a productive meeting and giving everyone a feeling of teamwork upon completion. As I have said before, we are all in this together, and we need the help of our local leaders and members to strengthen our wonderful organization.

Speaking of the Convention, we are less than one year away! You will be hearing more about this important event over the next few months. Once again, we will be putting together a “Convention Menu” on our website that will have all pertinent information easily accessible. We are all looking forward to getting together in Pittsburgh!

I look forward to seeing many of you at our International Golf Tournament on August 7th-9th in East Stroudsburg, PA at Pocono Hills Golf Course. 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.

I know that there are many local Assembly/Wreath functions planned for the Fall Season. I urge all our Assembly and Wreath Officers to announce the event in our publication and to follow up after the event with brief articles and photos. It is important for everyone in our organization to see and hear from our active local lodges.

Until next time, all the very best to our youngsters on a new school year and God Bless to All!

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