Special VESTNIK Supplement: 2021 Pre-Convention Reports Issue
Pre-Convention Report President Brian Vanicek Dear Brothers and Sisters, project honors specific names, dates, Thank you delegates to the 33rd and places, the Velehrad story is also the SPJST Convention and members for the story of immigration, integration, and positive difference that you make in assimilation — something that each of your lodge, in your community, and in us — as descendants of many different SPJST. Thank you, too, for your trust races, creeds, and national origins — and for believing in the fraternal ideal of have in common. doing good for each other and SPJST Well for the comCapitalized munity. Your With assets of faith has been approximately and remains a $244 million, powerful motiSPJST continues vator to me. My to fulfill its fireport is meant to nancial obligaprovide you with tions to its a composite look members and at SPJST since keep pace with our last conventhe life insurance tion in 2016. industry. The SoThat covers a lot ciety offers its of ground; homembers an exwever, I will do tensive menu of my best to let life insurance opyou know what tions, including things look like annuities and from my perIRAs. From a fispective. nancial perspecLet’s start tive, SPJST Brian Vanicek, FIC with a question. remains healthy What does buildand well capitaling a swimming pool in Houston have ized. I’m especially excited to see the in common with a charitable fundraiser new business volume that has come on in Ennis or a canned food drive in Hal- in 2021. With a revitalized emphasis on lettsville? Everything! All of our activ- SPJST branding, sales training, and misities – from Camp Kubena to the Corpus sion, I look forward to seeing this trend Christi Getaway are united in that they continue. Vice President Doherty’s rebring vitality and substance to the words port will give you a good idea of the fraternalism, brotherhood, and human- progress that is unfolding. On a related ity. The good times and the bad times note, best wishes in retirement to Honare the family history that we as orary Supreme Lodge Vice President members of the SPJST Family share. Hiram Dixon for his dutiful service to Collectively, they define the character SPJST. I will always remember Hiram and progress of our fraternal order. as the man who conceived the idea for In 2021, we celebrate the 124th anni- the Fort Hood November 5, 2009 Meversary of the founding of SPJST! We morial. It was a tremendous challenge are alive with the same spirit and prom- and honor for SPJST and to me, perise that filled the Fayette County Court- sonally, to have been a part of that projhouse in La Grange, Texas, on ect from concept to completion. December 28, 1896, when 25 Texans of The year 2020 — a year in which Czech descent met to organize a new COVID-19 dominated the world stage fraternal benefit society. The reded- — was atypical in terms of fraternal outication of the historic SPJST Lodge 19, reach. The prior year — 2019 —more Velehrad hall on May 19, 2019, on the clearly reflects the depth of SPJST’s fracampus of Texas Czech Heritage and ternal commitment. In 2019, SPJST Cultural Center in La Grange reminds members devoted more than 50,000 us of that history. Even as the Velehrad service hours to their communities.
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SPJST also gave approximately $250,000 to deserving service organizations and charities in 2019. In 2021, there are approximately 40,000 SPJST members in 100 lodges throughout Texas. On the fraternal front, our watchword remains “relevancy” — doing those things that bring meaning and substance to the SPJST fraternal mission. We simply want to be the best that we can be. The prescription for relevancy in the Supreme Lodge and in our local lodges is strategic planning – making a conscious effort to routinely address what we are doing to deliver value to our members and our communities. The silver lining of 2020 was the way it accelerated SPJST’s embrace of the digital workplace. Necessity provided management with a motivational kick to break from the past and think about how to do things differently. Prior to March 2020, Home Office work life was routine and involved commuting to work, processing data, and handling sundry assignments in much the same way as the day before and the day before that. In three short months, we became more resourceful: Insurance applications without face-to-face contact; business activities shifting online; and business meetings conducted by teleconference. To that end, my thanks to the entire SPJST Home Office staff and management for making it work! SPJST’s digital transformation process remains an area ripe with promise. Future developments in SPJST’s drive to integrate digital technology should begin and end with the member — to create technology solutions that members and prospective members want to use.
the determination and leadership that they have demonstrated in correcting the procedural inadequacies of the past and investing in technological solutions for the future. Already, as a result of the actions taken in 2019 and 2020, the diversity and value of SPJST investment portfolio has been enhanced, enabling the Supreme Lodge to increase annuity rates at mid-year 2020. It doesn’t stop there. SPJST remains engaged in a system-wide effort to analyze and implement operational excellence within SPJST. The overriding objective is to implement the behaviors and work processes required for SPJST to be successful in the future. Of course, we should always be vigilant with costs but it’s more than just that. Driving fraternal growth requires ongoing and calculated investments in the business, in the form of new sales and marketing technology, and fraternal activities that support excellent customer service and member experiences. The last five years have been productive for SPJST and for fraternalism. That’s not to say we didn’t have our challenges, disagreements, and reconciliations along the way. That’s the way it goes with families. In SPJST, we are “family” if not by blood, then by common bond. Look through any typical issue of the Vestnik and what do you see? Members doing good things for each other and for their communities — that’s what it’s all about. In lodges all over the state, men, women, boys, and girls committed their time and energy to supporting worthwhile causes. They are taking the best that SPJST has to offer — a tradition of helping people to care for their families — and are extending these values to their communities and that’s a positive reflection on us all!
Performance Overview The statistical data that is presented in Controller Roy Vajdak’s report quantifies organizational performance since the last convention. Even so, I am compelled to comment on the decline in surplus which is referenced in his report. While an increase in unallocated surplus is always desirable, two of the key objectives over the last several years — and certainly this pre-dates 2016 — has been to correct multiple legacy issues that had been intertwined within the insurance program as well as to improve the credit quality of the investment portfolio. Here, I must express my appreciation to the members of SPJST Supreme Lodge for their loyalty, support, and for
Fraternal Engagement Through active participation in local SPJST Youth Clubs and statewide events, young members between the ages of five and 18 developed a greater awareness of the common bonds that we all share. SPJST youth clubs also worked with community-based organizations, tailoring programs to fit their local needs. There is great value in the collaborative ties that exist within the SPJST youth program and that are nurtured by our statewide District Youth Counselors, their assistants, and youth leaders. They know the importance of working together to achieve common goals. Their
