36th General Convention - William Penn Life

The Board
New, larger Board ready
to meet the challenges ahead
Among the important measures approved by the
36th General Convention were two which are
directly linked to the WPA’s aim of improved
corporate governance. The first changed the National
Auditing Committee from being a separate entity to a
standing committee of the Board of Directors. The second
enlarged the Board to 14 members.
The new, larger Board will face many challenges over
the next four years, and the General Convention elected an
outstanding slate of experienced, dedicated fraternalists to
sit on the Board and direct our Association to a bright
future.
The Board’s 14 members include eight re-elected
members, five members from the former National Auditing
Committee and one former Board member.
Elected by the Board to remain as its chairman was
Stephen J. Varga of Branch 48 New York. Mr. Varga, 51,
begins his second term as chairman with both eyes
squarely focused on the future. In his remarks to the
Convention, he outlined a bold set of standards--what he
called “The William Penn Initiative”--by which the WPA
will conduct its business, fraternal and charitable operations.
Joining Mr. Varga on the new Board are:
E. E. (Al) Vargo, 79, vice chairman of the Board, former
national president, former national secretary, a member of
the Board since 1999, and member of Branch 8340 Baltimore,
Md.;
Barbara A. House, 65, the first woman to serve as a vice
chairman of the Board, a national director since 1993, and
member of Branch 18 Lincoln Park, Mich.;
Ronald S. Balla, 62, a member of the Board from 1987 to
1991 and from 2003 to the present, and member of Branch
296 Springdale, Pa.;
William J. Bero, 52, a member of the Board from 1987 to
1991 and again from 1999 to the present, and member of
Branch 1, Bridgeport, Conn.;
Margaret H. Boso, 76, who served as secretary of the
National Auditing Committee and as a member of that
committee since 1991, and member of Branch 129 Columbus,
Ohio;
Dennis A. Chobody, 58, who served as vice chairman
of the National Auditing Committee and as a member of
that committee since 1991, and a member of Branch 88
Rural Valley, Pa.;
Robert A. Ivancso, 46, who served as chairman of the
Atty. Ralph Manning (far right), the WPA’s general counsel, swears in the new Board of Directors: (from left: Dennis A. Chobody,
Robert A Ivancso, Margaret H. Boso, Anne Marie Schmidt, Barbara A. House (vice chairman), Stephen J. Varga (chairman), E. E. (Al)
Vargo (vice chairman), Andrew W. McNelis, Nickolas M. Kotik, Roger G. Nagy, Charles S. Johns, Ronald S. Balla, William J. Bero and
William S. Vasvary.
10 William Penn Life, Special Convention Edition, December 2007