President's Page
December 2020
Joseph Stefka, Jr., FIC, President, CEO
jstefka@nsslife.org
Greetings to all as I have just completed my first week as your President. I would like to thank Secretary-Treasurer Linda Strom and our entire Home Office Staff for the warm welcome I received during my first week in the office. Linda and the Home Office Staff have been extremely helpful in making my transition into the position a smooth one. I appreciate all of you for making my first week a memorable one! I would also like to thank the Directors, Society advisors, members, agents, and friends who sent congratulatory cards, phoned, emailed or sent text messages to me with best wishes. Your kind and encouraging words are greatly appreciated.
December is always a special month as we celebrate the Christmas Holiday and the birth of Jesus with family gatherings filled with traditions passed from one generation to the next. Growing up in a household with my Grandmother who emigrated from Slovakia in the early 1900’s, we learned many Slovak traditions including those related to the Christmas season. Christmas Eve was a very special time for the extended Stefka family. Grandma Stefka spent the entire day preparing the delicious Slovak foods for the Christmas Eve dinner. Getting together with all of our aunts, uncles, and cousins made it special. The evening meal involved prayers by my father,
the lighting of the Christmas candle in the center of the table, and the many courses of the traditional Slovak Christmas Eve dinner. Looking back on those years as we gathered, the dinner was something we looked forward to each year. However, what made it more meaningful was family. Family Matters!
The Society has available copies of “A Slovak Christmas Eve,” a booklet which describe the Slovak Christmas Eve dinner ritual and recipes for a variety of dishes for the meal. Please contact the Home Office if you would like to have a copy of the booklet sent to you.
With the resurgence of cases of the coronavirus this fall, and due to caution, larger family gatherings for
the Christmas Holiday may be limited. Even though the number of people gathering may be smaller for traditional Slovak Christmas Eve dinners in each family this year, the traditions passed down to each new generation will continue. God Bless and stay healthy!
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Officers, Home Office Staff, and my family, I would like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous, healthy and safe New Year. Several NSS assemblies have planned activities for the month of December. Assembly 377 has planned a Holiday Gathering at Hugo’s Restaurant on December 6th, Assembly 731 will hold a Christmas Party at Elton Beard Cabin in Boardman, Ohio on December 6th, Assembly 737 will hold a Christmas Meeting at the Godor Residence on December 7th, Assembly 432 will a meeting and Christmas Party at Tony K’s on December 15th, and Assembly 705 will hold its annual Christmas Eve Celebration on December 24th.