Minutes of the 2019 November Board Meeting

The 2019 November Board Meeting was opened and called to order on November 16, 2019 at the Home Office, McMurray, PA, by Chairman of the Board Joseph Stefka, Jr. and after a few brief remarks, turned the meeting over to President & CEO David G Blazek. All Board members were present. NSS con- sultants who were presenting reports were also present.

Minutes of the 2019 Summer Board Meeting were approved with correc- tions. All Bond Sales, Exchanges and Purchases through September 31, 2019 were ratified and all Mortgages thru September 31, 2019 were reviewed.

Fraternal Activities Coordinator Pam Blum presented her fraternal report. Discussions were held on the PVR Scholarship Fund, the Grant Program and upcoming activities.

Sales Director Greg Felton presented the following NSS stats to date: 1,928 Agents, 34,000 Members. $12.9mm Face amount, $22mm New Business; 624 New Members and 36 New Agents brought on in 3rd Quarter. Sales are Brisk. Process continues for licensing in four (4) new states: Tennessee, Mary- land, Virginia and Minnesota.

Legal Advisor Ron Cooper, Esq. reported on our request to place an Elec- tronic NSS sign in front of our Home Office. He indicated that approval would be given if we remove our existing stone sign. Consensus was to move forward with obtaining an electric sign.

Larry White, Managing Director, AQS Asset Management, LLC, provided the following: Portfolio Metrics showing Book Yield of 4.64%, Portfolio Quality of A3/A, Effective Duration of 8.0 and Modified Duration of 9.1. Buys (what is available to purchase) and Sells were reviewed. Assets, Net Income, Surplus and RBC projections for 2019 were presented for discussion. Current rates and observations of the state of the economy were reviewed.

CPA Donald Reddinger presented an Overview of the 3rd Qtr Financials with emphasis on IMR and AVR reserves and the RBC.

The Cybersecurity Committee reported that their work on a HIPAA Policy has been put on hold for additional investigation. Work on the Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Policies will begin.

The Assembly Growth Committee reviewed the Fraternal Tracking Program and “Extra Effort” Awards for approval. After discussion the committee approved the same. The Fraternal Committee selected and approved the 2019 PVR Scholarship and Perpetual Scholarship awardees and acted upon all petitions received. All were approved.

The Membership Growth Committee reviewed current interest rates, discus- sion followed. Assembly reporting and reports were discussed. The Audit Com- mittee Report, presented by Director Robert Katricak, stated that the Bond Audit was completed and all was found in order. The CPA firm of R. D. Hoag, LLC was retained to audit for year ending 12/31/2019.

The Compensation Committee met in Executive Session and all items on their agenda were addressed. Chairman Stefka reported on the work of the Gov- ernance committee which includes: a revised Employee Handbook, the Board Self-Evaluation Survey, Enterprise Risk Management Framework, and an effec- tive Succession Plan.

The Youth Leadership Committee discussed various ways to gain the interest of our Youth. One suggestion was to make sure that our Fraternal Events have something for the entire family to do. Director and Museum Curator Ondrejco presented the report of the Museum Committee. The 2019 NSSHM September- fest will be held on September 26, 2019 at the Home Office.

Under Old Business, items addressed or reviewed were: the NSS Strategic Plan, the current status of the PA Insurance Department Exam which is nearing $400,000, a recap of Septemberfest, and the creation of a Convention Charter.

Under New Business, Director Wesnak moved to keep the Interest Rates the same for the 1st Quarter 2020 with a Suhlas, the Assembly Officers Seminar will be scheduled for November 2020 and the CGAD survey will be started very soon. Miscellaneous items such as: Committee Assignments, revisions to the Insurance and Annuity Guidelines, Board Self Evaluation, Security in Vestibule and Annual Assembly and Region forms were discussed.

The meeting was recessed so that a Board Executive Session could take place. Upon reconvening the meeting Director Ondrejco presented a brief report on the children of the Forrest Gump Club in Slovakia. The 2019 November Board meeting concluded.