Every year fraternal organisations and associations across the United States of America name their person of the year, a person whose volunteer work or professional engagement contributed to the advancement of their organisation or association. This year the top fraternal prize went to Bernadette Luketich-Sikaras, the Croatian Fraternal Union national secretary/treasurer.
The Croatian Fraternal Union of America is very active in fraternal activities and organisations in Pittsburgh and its environs (the Fraternal Societies of Greater Pittsburgh). It is a member of the Pennsylvania Fraternal Alliance and of the American Fraternal Alliance. Twenty-three representatives of the association and Croatian ambassador to the United States of America Pjer Šimunović attended the gala presentation of the annual prize honouring Ms Bernadette Luketich-Sikaras.
Bernadette Luketich-Sikaras (https://cfu.org/hr/officer/bernadette-m-luketich-sikaras-2/) came into fraternalism in her early childhood, and this top fraternalism prize has come into the right hands, much to the pride of the Croatian Fraternal Union and the Luketich family. Bernadette is the daughter of the late, much acclaimed and long-standing former national president of the Croatian Fraternal Union, Bernard Luketich and his wife Martha. From her childhood she was inducted into the philosophy of volunteer work and sacrifice aimed at helping others, in promoting tamburitza music heritage, and Croatian traditional customs, in preserving and developing her Croatian ancestry. Her daily routine is well established: waking, attending mass in church, visiting and playing her instrument at ethnic Croatian civic centres, gatherings, and summer events, and courses teaching the playing of musical instruments. Bernadette has mastered a broad range of the traditional string instruments.
In her early childhood she and sister Marlene played in the all-girls Bećarice tamburitza ensemble, winning the praise of audiences. She is endowed both with an excellent singing voice and is a true virtuoso on the prim tamburitza. The members of the Luketich family have a strong sense of charity, spiritual satisfaction in helping others, and profound joy in achieving any one of the many humanitarian endeavours they have been involved in. These are, in fact, the common threads of fraternalism, i.e., the fraternal system, that brings together and creates networks among ethnic Croatians abroad and the homeland.
Attending the gala banquet and prize ceremony were the many members of Ms Luketich-Sikaras’ home St. George Lodge 354, of which she is also the president. This is the most numerous lodge in the ranks of the Croatian Fraternal Union, gathering over 2,200 members. It is home to two prominent tamburitza bands, the St. George junior and adult tamburitza ensembles. Dario Barišić sang the three national anthems (of the United States of America, Canada and Croatia), accompanied by the St. George tamburitza band and the Zabava orchestra conducted by Frank Božićević.
Ms Luketich-Sikaras is currently visiting the Croatian capital of Zagreb to meet with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, the leadership of the Croatian Heritage Foundation, state secretary Zvonko Milas at the State Office for Croats Abroad, and the Croatian Fraternal Union lodges in Ogulin (CFU lodge 2001 Frankopan) and Osijek (CFU lodge 2002 Osijek).
Text and photography: Franjo Bertović