When in the course of our monthly affairs an issue of the “Monthly Progress,” comes across your desk, we the publicity and editorial committee are not just providing a bulletin of the news, but a perpetual record of our club’s eventful history.
Over my lifetime as a member, my interest in all things German-Hungarian grew, developed, and changed just as the club itself does every day. Important to me has long been creating, cataloging, and continuing the written and visual archives of our club.
When in 1946 a committee of Ted Kereczmann, Adam Weber, Bernard Stoffel, and Anton Weber released the first issue of the “Monthly News,” Kereczmann wrote that if we had, “some ways or means of reaching them [the members], we could eliminate most causes of dissension, lack of interest, and lack of co-operation among all of us.”
Two thousand Twenty-One marks the beginning of Volume 76 of what became our “Monthly Progress.” That is a huge accomplishment and I think looking at its record we can argue that Mr. Kereczmann’s goal was met and maintained many times over. So much history and record can’t be mentioned easily in one paragraph. Instead, highlights of major milestones for our newsletter will have to do. These items marked important growth. Beginning in the 1950s with “Buzzing around the Sport Club,” Emily Fricker brought humor, history, and club pride to the newspaper. In 2002, Joe Hartmann redesigned the masthead for a new age. In 2004 we began printing the publication ourselves. In 2001 we launched ughclub.us and in 2005 the “Monthly Progress” began having most of its circulation by e-mail. At some point, after 2008, social media like Facebook and Instagram has been a major way we communicate.
So, then how is it that we take what we already do well and move it a step ahead? I encourage all of our members to read the Volume 1, No. 1 from cover to cover. After all, we have always prided ourselves on moving to the future with knowledge of our past. That issue is painted with a brush of post war boom. Kereczmann called it a “Progressive Move Forward,” and the great Frank Follmer opens his president’s address, with a message that sounds familiar to us here in 2021.
“The year just ending (1945) has seen the successful conclusion of the war, in which we have been victorious. Our boys are coming home. Certain restrictions and some rationing are gradually being lifted. New ideas are being considered for your pleasure and enjoyment.”
-Frank Follmer
Just like that 4 man committee in 1946, this year we formed a new committee to work on integrating our Monthly Progress with a redesigned website all easily found at www.ughclub.us. Chris Deely took care of the technical side of things with servers, and domains, and much more more code we don’t understand. Joe Reiter ‘s experience and wisdom was invaluable as we decided things like layouts, what information to include and update, and he also did (and is still doing) all the tedious scanning work of the souvenir books and documents we’ve made available. Karina Fricker has taken charge in the area of content enlisting help from Emma Walter, and Kristen Reiter to develop new segments of material released on a weekly basis. Special thanks to Lisa Fricker for continuing to handle print distribution. We also cannot thank enough our President Janet, for keeping us all on track, insisting rightly so on a deadline and for getting excited about my excitement in a new project.
Moving forward our news, entertainment advertisements, updates, editorials, photos and more will all be available in a timely fashion here at http://www.ughclub.us. Our club lives move faster these days and as a result the traditional Progress Newsletter will be available here as well as in print on a quarterly basis.
A contest gave our official organ its name. Now in 2021 we have realized the goals of those men in the 1940s, every editor we’ve had, and all those that call themselves German-Hungarians. The “Monthly Progress” is not just a four or six page, 8.5×11 newsletter. Every piece of communication we use whether written on paper or existing online contributes to the canon that is and will be going forward, The Monthly Progress. Of that there is no contest.
Michael N. Fricker
Publicity & Editorial Chairman
United German-Hungarians
Have news our members would like to know? Interested in writing an article, contributing a photo, or placing an ad?
Contact the editor at mfricker92@hotmail.com
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