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F R O M
N A T I O N A L
C A T H O L I C
S O C I E T Y
O F
F O R E S T E R S ★
Moving
Faith into
Action Since
1891
JULY / AUG 2008
VOL
6
ISSUE
4
CONNECTIONS
CALENDAR
OF EVENTS
INDEPENDENCE
DAY is July 4
HEARTS AND
HANDS
time to grow
July 23-25
RUMMAGE SALE
St. Adolph Court 901
Park Rapids, MN
August 8-9
RUMMAGE SALE
Sacred Heart Court 517
Laurium, MI
July 14
DAVENPORT
ASSOCIATION
Iowa City, IA
★COURT CONNECTIONS★
C O U RT R E L AT I O N S
E X T.
Is there any court that wouldn’t want new beneficial members? To have new blood, new
ideas, and an increased pool of members to replace officers who have served nobly for
so many years. We all know that our courts need to grow, but that goal often seems
difficult to achieve. While I know you are currently doing everything you can, let me
offer two suggestions that might help grow your membership.
1) If you are fortunate and have a NCSF representative who services your
court, be certain to share referrals with them. For example, a new family
moves into your parish, a parishioner gets married, has a baby, buys a new
home, gets a new job, or retires – all these and other significant life events
are opportunities to grow your court and our Society. Contact your sales
representative and give him/her the name and contact information of these
individuals. We are in this together and the only way we can increase our
beneficial membership is through the sale of our quality NCSF insurance
or annuity products. We should make that sales process as easy and
seamless as possible. Not only is this the right thing to do, but you can
receive a $15 award for referring someone who becomes a new beneficial
member.
ASSOCIATION
MEETING
800.344.6273
SUMMER ...
204
2) If your court doesn’t have a NCSF representative, there may be an excellent
candidate in your local area. Tom Adamson, NCSF National Sales Director
is continually looking for new representatives to join our excellent sales
team. It could be someone who is already in the insurance business. It
might be someone you believe has the “right stuff” to be a good
representative for NCSF. If the individual needs the training to procure
his/her insurance license, our sales department will assist in any way
possible. In either event, the ideal candidate should be active in their local
parish with a true sense of community. They should be someone you
respect and enjoy. If you know this person, or see them in the mirror, please
send their name and contact information to Tom Adamson (800-344-6273
ext. 204 or [email protected]).
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Is the glass half
empty or half full?
Your answers will depend on
how you look at things. Some
people see a problem, others see
an opportunity. It just depends …
“A man pulled into a gas station
on the outskirts of town. As he
filled his tank, he remarked to
the attendant, ‘I’ve just accepted
a job in town. I’ve never been to
this part of the country. What are
the people like here?’ ‘What are
the people like where you came
from?’ the attendant asked. ‘Not
so nice,’ the man replied. ‘In fact,
they can be quite rude.’ The
attendant shook his head. ‘Well,
I’m afraid you’ll find the people
in this town to be the same way.’
Just then another car pulled into
the station. ‘Excuse me,’ the
driver called out. ‘I’m just
moving to this area. Is it nice
here?’ Was it nice where you
came from?’ the attendant
inquired. ‘Oh yes! I came from a
great place. The people were
friendly, and I hated to leave.’
Well, you’ll find the same to be
true of this town.’ ‘Thanks!’
yelled the driver as he pulled
away.
‘So what is this town really like?’
asked the first man, now irritated
with the attendant’s conflicting
reports. The attendant just
shrugged his shoulders. ‘It’s all a
matter of perception. You’ll find
things to be just the way you
think they are.’ ” (TAKEN FROM ‘BITS
AND PIECES’)
The moral of this story is true.
We see what we expect to see.
There is good and bad in all of
us – which one do you see in
other people?
2
Court Bank Account
Conversion
Has your court changed its bank account under the EIN you received? The
IRS letters awarding your court an EIN were mailed to the President and
Treasurer of each court by my office. Thus far I have received confirmation of
the EIN conversion from about 25% of our courts. They all reported that
changing the court bank account to the EIN was a very easy process. If your
court has not switched your account to your EIN yet, please do so at your
earliest opportunity. This change is mandatory so we might as well get it done.
A quick review of what needs to happen:
(1) You have already received your
letters so the officers(s) who
sign on the account should take
the EIN letter to the bank, close
the court’s current checking
account and re-open a checking
account under the new EIN.
(2) Be sure you open the new
account with this format:
- Name and number of the court
- National Catholic
Society of Foresters
- Address you prefer
For example:
- Saint Christopher Court 1492
- National Catholic
Society of Foresters
- Happy Town, IL 98765
(3) Since this is a mandatory
process, please contact the court
relations office to verify that the
new account is open so I can
track our progress. You can do
this by calling (800-344-6273
ext 204) or by email
([email protected]). I
don’t need documentation, just
your notification that the change
has been completed.
(4) Each year return your court
audit report in a timely manner
so I can file the required IRS
report on your behalf. This
report will be filed under your
EIN.
(5) If you encounter any problems
in this process, please call me at
the court relations office. Thank
you for your cooperation in this
matter.
FRATERNAL MVP PROGRAM UPDATE
The National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA) has announced a change
in their Fraternal MVP program. We received the following from Joseph
Annotti, NFCA President:
“NFCA will …… continue to urge all member societies to nominate Fraternal
MVPs. We will continue to promote the contributions of these individuals and
member societies on the association’s Web site and to their local media.
However, we are going to eliminate the segment of the program that calls for
MVPs to travel to D.C. to meet with members of Congress.”
Thus the only real change is the elimination of the trip to Washington D.C. The
program remains a great honor to any of our members and I encourage you to
continue nominating worthy individuals from your court as Fraternal MVPs.
★✮✯✰★✮✯✰★✮✯
The Revolutionary War
I didn’t know …
A C O M M E N TA R Y F O R I N D E P E N D E N C E D AY
I thought I was pretty good in school ... I excelled at recess and was at the top of my
grade school class in Math and History. Before you think that was a big deal, my class consisted
of 16 students, part of a 3 room country school staffed by Dominican Sisters. We learned a lot
from the sisters, but a little research showed me a side of the Revolutionary War that I had no
idea existed. Some of what I learned:
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In 1778 a woman was brought before General George Washington and he
commissioned her a sergeant in the Continental Army (a rare occurrence in 1778).
After the war, she received a pension for her service and when she died was buried
with full military honors. The cemetery where she lies today has two monuments
to her memory. The woman was Mary Hays, nicknamed Molly Pitcher.
Spies were very important in the war and George Washington was a master in
using them. He ran dozens of spy rings in British-held New York and Philadelphia
and proved to be a genius at disinformation. He confused the British by leaking
inflated reports on the strength of his army.
History’s first submarine attack took place in New York harbor in 1776. David
Bushnell invented a machine he named the "Turtle", because it resembled two
large tortoise shells joined together. In September, the submarine Turtle
unsuccessfully attacked the British flagship, HMS Eagle.
In 1779, one in every seven Americans in Washington’s army was black. Hesitant
at first about enlisting blacks, Washington changed his mind after he heard of their
valor in earlier battles. Most of the blacks in the army were slaves, promised
freedom after the war, but there were also freedmen who believed in the cause of
freedom.
After Britain lost the war, King George III believed Washington would become a
dictator and Americans would long for a return to royal rule. When he was told
Washington planned to resign his commission the King stated, "If he does that, sir,
he will be the greatest man in the world.
It’s hard to imagine everything that took place during our war for Independence. The
most important war in our history was fought by common people with uncommon bravery. From
Lexington and Concord through Valley Forge to final victory at Yorktown, there are so many
stories that aren’t recorded in the history books. Yet thanks to many people whose stories are
mostly forgotten, we have much to celebrate on Independence Day. This July 4th, remember all
those who sacrificed to make us free, and those who, to this day, continue the sacrifice to keep
us free.
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DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE
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Choose an answer from the three choices offered after each
question and then “Check Your Answers” at the end
of the quiz to see how you scored.
(1) At what meeting did delegates adopt the final draft of
the Declaration of Independence?
(a) First Continental Congress
(b) Second Continental Congress
(c) The Constitutional Convention
(2) Who was king of the United Kingdom at the time the
colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence?
(a) George III
(b) George IV
(c) George V
(3) Who was the main author of the Declaration of
Independence?
(a) John Adams
(b) Benjamin Franklin
(c) Thomas Jefferson
(4) Which of the following is NOT included in the
Declaration of Independence:
(a) A Declaration of Rights
(b) A Bill of Indictment
(c) Articles of Confederation
(5) How many people signed the Declaration of
Independence?
(a) 13
(b) 26
(c) 56
(6) The Declaration of Independence contributed to the
development of democracy by:
(a) rejecting Parliament’s stamp tax
(b) allowing women to take part in government
(c) suggesting that people are the source of power
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(7) According to the Declaration of Independence, the
people have the right to alter or abolish a
government, if that government:
(a) is a limited monarchy
(b) violates natural rights
(c) favors one religion over another
(8) The Declaration of Independence was based on the
ideas of the :
(a) Enlightenment
(b) Renaissance
(c) Romantic Era
(9) According to the Declaration of Independence,
governments are established to:
(a) protect the nation from invasion
(b) provide a system of checks and balances
(c) protect the natural rights of citizens
(10) Where is the original Declaration of Independence
displayed?
(a) Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House
in Philadelphia
(b) Library of Congress Building in Washington,
D.C.
(c) National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.
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(1) – (b) Second Continental Congress (2) – (a) George III (3) – (c) Thomas Jefferson (4) – (c)
Articles of Confederation (5) – (c) 56 (6) – (c) suggesting that people are the source of power
(7) – (b) violates natural rights (8) – (a) Enlightenment (9) – (c) protect the natural rights of
citizens (10) – (c) National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.
4