Guests from Slavonia in London, Ontario met with the executive councilors of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America: Edward W. Paz, Franjo Bertović and Bernadette Luketich-Sikaras.
A delegation of the political leadership of Slavonia and several business people are currently staying in America and Canada. They arrived in New York by plane, and then visited the Croatian community in that magnificent city and crossed the border into neighboring Canada by car.
Over the weekend, August 20 to August 21, they visited Toronto, Norval and London, Ontario. There they met many expats and business people who attended the summer party in Norval, near the Croatian Church of Queen of Peace and the miniFEST Sounds of Tambura in London near the Croatian parish of St. Leopold Mandić, under the sponsorship of the “Ogulin” Section 530 of the Croatian Fraternal Union.
Both events have a long tradition, but the rainy weather affected the somewhat smaller presence of Croats and their friends on this occasion.
In London, the joyous event culminated with the performance of the famous “St. George” tamburas from Cokeburg, Pennsylvania, the tambura group “Svemir” from Pittsburgh and the Croatian folklore ensemble “Nova nada” from Detroit, Michigan.
Guests from Slavonia in London, Ontario met with the executive councilors of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America – National President Edward W. Paz, National Vice President and Director of Member Services Franjo Bertović and National Secretary/Treasurer Bernadette Luketich-Sikaras.
They discussed the cooperation and experiences of our oldest and largest organization of Croats in the diaspora, as well as the possibility of stronger cooperation, especially regarding the economy. Issues and possibilities of investing in Slavonia and the Republic of Croatia were also touched upon. The questions mostly related to investments in the economy, but also to the substantial “paperwork” or arranging documentation on ownership, which should be the first step in any investment. The answers were quite positive because certain actions are being taken or have already been taken to make everything go faster and create investor confidence.
The guests from Croatia addressed all those present through the public address system and greeted them and briefly explained the reasons for their visit. Guests from the Republic of Croatia were as follows: Prefect of Vukovar-Srijem County Damir Dekanić, Prefect of Virovitica-Podravina County Igor Andrović, Prefect of Požega-Slavonia County Antonija Jozić, Mayor of Daruvar Damir Lneniček, Sales Director of Bjelin d.o.o. Jozo Jović, representative of the company EKO gradnja d.o.o. Silvia Jović and the editor-in-chief of the “Komunal” magazine Marijan Kavran.
Text and photo: Franjo Bertović