Dear SVU members and friends,
Attached, please, find an invitation to our Mother’s Day celebration on Sunday, May 12, 2013 at the ACSCC (Club). The ladies will receive flowers and a glass of wine, and all of us will be treated with a tasty lunch and some very fine chamber music.
Please, also note that lunch starts at 12 noon, so we can be “done” eating by 3 PM, when the concert starts. Download the invitation here. Hope to see you all on May 12, 2013!
Dr. Thomas Gral, SVU Florida
The Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences (SVU) is pleased to announce its 2013 regional conference, to be held in the Pacific Northwest on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle from August 29 to August 31, 2013 (with optional sightseeing extensions through September 2). The general theme of the conference will be Czechs, Slovaks and North America: Destination, Example, Opportunity.
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The lively West community has some 78% of its population of Czech Slovak heritage. Czech immigrants came to the area since 1880s.
An explosion at the West Fertilizer Plant on April 17, 2013 leveled several blocks of the town and caused fires to spread across several more blocks. There were around 200 injuries and many deaths.
A Czech mass in honor of the victims and other residents of West was held on Sunday, April 21, at 12:15PM in the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington, DC.
The Czech Ambassador to the United States Petr Gandalovič visits West with Texas Governor Perry to see the damage and to meet Mayor Muska to discuss specific forms of assistance that the Czech Republic could provide to the community.
On April 20, 2013, the Czech Embasssy in Washington DC hosted an extraordinary conference organized by the SVU with the aim to attract new members to the Society by introducing them to the complex issue of intellectual property.
Five speakers discussed the principles and utility of intellectual property in contemporary society. Speakers included Dr. Peter Ujhazy of the National Cancer Institute, Edward (Jed) Gordon of Boston legal firm Foley & Lardner LLP, George Dolina of Falls Church IP law firm BSKB, scientist Imre Kovesdi, and novelist Geert van der Kolk.
The conferernce achieved its goal by presenting in an accessible manner the basics and practical aspects of the intellectual property protection. More detailed information including the abstracts and short videos will be available on the SVU Website. The format of this conference proved to be an example for future endeavors in recruitement of new Society’s members.
| Program of the Conference |
Stay in tune for abstracts and videos.
Congratulations to SVU member Dr. Jan Vilcek who was named a recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Barack Obama.
“I am proud to honor these inspiring American innovators,” President Obama said in a statement released by the White House. “They represent the ingenuity and imagination that has long made this Nation great—and they remind us of the enormous impact a few good ideas can have when these creative qualities are unleashed in an entrepreneurial environment.”
On April 11, 2013, President Barack Obama awarded Chaplain (Captain) Emil J. Kapaun (1916-1951), b. Pilsen KS, of Czech immigrant parents, the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry. Chaplain Kapaun received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his extraordinary heroism while serving with the 3d Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division during combat operations against an armed enemy at Unsan, Korea and as a prisoner of war from November 1-2, 1950. …read more
SVU Scholar-in-Residence and Past SVU President Míla Rechcigl has just completed a unique, authoritative and intensely absorbing manuscript “Czech American Timeline: Chronology of Milestones in the History of Czechs in America.”
This comprehensive chronology depicts the dazzling epic history of Czech colonists, settlers, as well as early visitors, and their descendants, starting in 1519, …read more
Mother’s Day on Florida, May 12, 2013
SVU Members: