President’s Report – 2015

The highlight of the year for the Club was our 35^th Anniversary Celebration.  Held on October 24^th at Olbrich Gardens, the 72 participants enjoyed the exhibits of many Polish family treasures, the Syrena Polish Dance Ensemble, the delicious food, and the excellent company of the members at their tables.

Our members worked at and enjoyed many local cultural festivals. These events generated revenue of over $45,000 to support our mission.  They included

• The International Festival;
• The Spring Festival;
• The Steven’s Point Portage Co. Cultural Festival;
• The Willy Street Fair — a new event for us in 2015; and
• The Christmas Bazaar  

We had a good financial year due to the strong revenues from these events.  But the one-time expense for the Anniversary party was greater than anticipated which prevented us from being able to build the reserves as the Board planned.

The Wigilia is a fitting end to the club year.  This event blesses us by providing us an opportunity to remember our birth families and to rejoice in the company of our Polish Club family.

Thanks to Joanna Pasowicz for organizing the Wigilia. We are graced with so many members who share their talents to make the event special. Thanks to Phil Flannery for acting as the master of ceremonies, Irene Swiggum for reading the story, and Tom Wosikowski for playing the piano and leading us in song.

Your support and the club revenues allowed us to donate to the Wisconsin Book Festival and the Polish Film Festival.

This income also allowed the Scholarship Committee to nominate and the board authorize three student scholarships this year.  Additionally, in the upcoming year, the Board will explore creating a nonprofit entity to raise money for our scholarships.  The long-term goal for this effort is to establish an endowment to provide a regular revenue stream for this activity.

Our other regular activities continue to be strong.  The Breakfast Club meets on the First Friday of the Month, and the Book Club meets regularly to discuss the latest book selection.

The 2015 By-Laws committee, headed by Deb Anchowitz, presented us with a substantial rewrite of the By-Laws, which you have had the opportunity to review and will vote on today.

We honor the memory of our members who are no longer with us. 

We now have 204 voting members: 52 Family, 88 Individual, and 12 Honorary members.  I am blessed and honored to work with this wonderful club of exceptional people that enjoy each other and rejoice in all things Polish.

Respectfully submitted,

Marge Morgan, Vice President as Acting President