Las Vegas - Serbian Unity Congress

CHAPTER NEWS
Michigan Serbs Unite In Detroit!
It is official! After only one meeting Michigan
Serbs are on a united front to revitalize
the Serbian Unity Congress Chapter in
Detroit, and help their Serbian community
throughout the Homeland and Diaspora!
On a sunny April 9th, 2005, the
Detroit Serbian community and Serbian students
from the University of Michigan welcomed
Dr. Jasmina Vujic, who is a Professor
of Nuclear Engineering at the University of
California, Berkely and the Vice President
of the Serbian Unity Congress.
Dr. Vujic delivered an important
speech regarding the critical issues facing
the Serbian community in the US and the
Homeland. The speech covered U.S. policy
towards our holy land of Kosovo and Metohija,
preservation and promotion of our
Kosovo heritage, and Homeland cooperation
and Diaspora participation. Additionally,
Dr. Vujic spoke about a new and exciting
campaign that the SUC has launched
known as “Know Your Congress”.
The goal with this campaign is to
get more Congressmen to join the Congressional
Serbian Caucus, which currently
includes 22 Members of Congress. It is
during this process that Detroit Serbs can
present the concerns of the community to
their elected Representatives. However,
this goal cannot be attained without volunteers
of the local Serbian community. This is
where the Michigan Serbs are rising to the
challenge.
Specific materials were prepared
for the Detroit Serbs to take home with them
to utilize. They were provided with the list
of Representatives in the Southeast Michigan
area, sample letters that they could immediately
send out to their Representative,
and a membership packet that provided an
instruction sheet on how to present their
case to their Congressman/woman.
Dr. Vujic pointed out key phrases
for our future success in Detroit. The first
phrase is “Professionalism”. We need to be
there, organize members, and effectively
communicate. The second phrase is “Member
Support”. Wide support of our efforts
is essential both in numbers and finances.
And the third and final phrase is “Volunteering”.
Footwork done by members and
supporters is vital.
The Serbian community has never
come together as a whole in this construc-
tive manner and the Detroit Chapter is
building the foundation of unity in its local
metro area.
Zlatko Erdeljan and myself, Violeta
Grujovski have accepted the interim positions
of the President and Secretary of the
SUC Michigan Chapter. A “Kick Off” meeting
is planned for sometime in May 2005 in
which we will then elect Chapter Officers.
During this short time I have had
great pleasure with working with Zlatko.
He and I are committed to be strong leaders
and to help build confidence and unite this
Michigan Chapter. It will take time but with
everyone’s hard work and dedication it can
be done!
After our meeting ended, Zlatko
and I packed our things into our cars and
as I made my way home my thoughts went
to Dr. Vujic’s presentation and our people.
This year is a very important year for the
Serbian Community throughout the world.
No one will speak for us unless we do and
no one will help us so we need to help ourselves
and be united.
I would love to believe that our famous
slogan “Samo Sloga Srbina Spasava”
actually mean something to each Serbian.
They are words that should not be said or
taken lightly. They are very powerful because
it is a statement of truth. Without us
being united and in agreement of the things
that are important, which today is Kosovo-
Metojhia, we lose a lot and we end up with
nothing.
Today the Michigan Serbs are uniting
and we ask everyone to unite with us as
we create one voice for the world to hear.
Let us work together and present our case to
our elected Representatives and reach the
goal of 50 Members for our caucus by Vidovdan!
We thank Dr. Vujic and the Washington
Staff for all of their dedication, support,
and guidance they have provided to
Zlatko and I these past several weeks! The
Michigan Chapter is looking forward to
working with them and many other members
throughout the Diaspora.
Samo Sloga Srbina Spasava!
Sincerely,
Violeta Grujovski
Austrian Serbs to learn
english in Canada
Serbian Unity Congress Austria
Serbian Unity Congress Austria
with PLI from Vancouver and Toronto has
organized 2 months of English language
study.The basic criteria for admission to the
English studies program is involvement in
Serbian society. We are trying to motivate
our Serbian intelectuals in Austria to become
interested in Serbian organizations
and to help us by becoming members or increasing
their involvement with the implementation
of projects.
We are planning similar projects
for Belgrade, Podgorica and Banja Luka
(next year). Vesti Frankfurt will be actively
involved in both projects.
These projects are well welcomed
by all serbian organizations and the media.
We have received the most compliments we
have received from Vienna University Student
Club, which consists of aproximately
200 members.
Serbian National Defense Initiate Most
Needed Census Project
April 14, 2005
The Serbian Orthodox Church endorses
this project and our North American Bishops
gave it their blessings. If it will make
you any more comfortable, you may submit
completed forms to your parish priest who
will forward them on to the census data collection
center.
Our census center will eliminate any duplications.
The Serbia Ministry for the Diaspora
also endorsed this action. The form is
also published in the Serbian National Defense’s
publication “Sloboda – Liberty” and
the Serbian National Federation’s publication
“SRBOBRAN” Please be assured that
any data that you submit will not be used
for any commercial purposes, sold to mailing
list operators or similar.
The sole purpose of this census is to establish
the number of Serbian Americans in the
USA and the ZIP codes of their residences.
Thank you for your help and prompt response.
GOD BLESS YOU! BOG VAS BLAGOSL-
OVIO I POZIVEO!
10 www.serbianunity.net