A PDF version of the current annual report, as well as previous reports, are available for downloading at the bottom of this page.
September 2020 – May 2021
The Twin Cities Slovenians (TCS) was formed in Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding areas as Branch 109 of the Slovenian Union of America (SUA). TCS welcomes men, women and children as members. We invite you to join our social group if you have Slovenian heritage or are a friend of Slovenian culture. Our goal is to honor our Slovenian heritage through the sharing of fellowship, culture, history, and music, food, language, literature and genealogy activities. If you are of Slovenian heritage, wish you were, or are just impressed by this very small and beautiful country, the Twin Cities Slovenians welcome your inquiry and membership. There’s plenty of potica, good will and fun to go around. Check us out at twincitiesslovenians.org.
Programs and Celebrations
September 2020 – We continued meeting remotely using Zoom. We kicked off the year with a Rick Steve’s video tour of Slovenia. We continued hosting a Zoom coffee hour to engage and update members.
October 2020 – Our Zoom presenters were Liz and John Miller, who focused on their Slovenian Roots. There was also a Zoom coffee hour for informal conversation.
November 2020 – We traditionally celebrate Martinovanje in person. This year, Zoom allowed Joe Valencic to provide a program about this celebration.
December 2020 – Officers are normally elected at the December meeting. All current officers and board members agreed to serve an additional term. Our meeting focused on Christmas Traditions with Sue Rademacher and Rich Samec presenting. Sue’s power point focused on Slovenian Christmas and the three gift givers. Rich Samec focused on music. He also shared videos and played a few songs on his button box.
January 2021 – Dr. Seth Hawkins took us on a virtual tour of the Julian H. Sleeper Museum and Slovenian Exhibit. He was available for questions and answers. We resumed our Zoom coffee hours to keep connected to our membership.
February 2021 – Cynthia Bradford, with assistance from her daughter shared her experience attending the Ptuj Carnival. This was a great opportunity for our membership to get a taste of this celebration. A Zoom coffee hour followed later in the month.
March 2021- Our friends from Top Ten Liquors delighted us with a Zoom presentation on Slovenian wines. It was an entertaining presentation regarding types of grapes and the wines associated with them. Slovenian Wine can be found at Top Ten Liquors as well as a few other stores in the Twin Cities Metro area. Top Ten has the most extensive assortment of Slovenian Wine. There also was a Zoom coffee hour to check in on folks. It was appropriate that we also “toasted “our Member of the Year, John Perhay. Joh is our technology expert. He manages our website and helped us transition to the Zoom platform.
April 2021- In April, we took a virtual walking tour of Ljubljana. This was an opportunity to see people together outside even if we could not gather in person.
May 2021- In May, we completed the program year with a presentation on Slovenia – WWII. Our presenters were Chuck Debevec, Pat Dillon and Joe Petric. They gave a passionate and informative presentation. We did have a Zoom coffee hour a week later to end the program year.
September 2021 thru May 2022
In-person meetings and gatherings will return! We also anticipate some Zoom meetings. We will follow NBCC rules when gathered there and appropriate safe practices when in other locations. We look forward to those in person interactions.
Slovenian Language Study Group
The Language Class meets monthly beginning in September. Enrollment is now required, and will be accepted through October. There is no class fee for TCS donating members. There is a $20 fee for non- donating individuals. A “beginners” class may be added if there are enough new learners. John Zakelj is the contact person for the Language Class.
Website, Facebook, Newsletter
Our website (www.twincitiesslovenians.org) is managed by our Webmaster John Perhay. It is full of important information and useful links. Don’t hesitate to check it out! Please note that the website contains all programs. We upload them after the original meeting. If you miss a meeting, you can still view the presentation.
The Twin Cites Slovenians also has a Facebook page for members and friends of TCS. We share pictures from our events and other useful communication. This is a closed page, so please contact Mike Koski, John Zakelj or John Perhay for access.
Special thanks to Jean Podominick for producing a newsletter to keep us informed and entertained during this time of shelter in place.
Conclusion
Thank you to each and every member and friend of the Twin Cities Slovenians for helping to make our organization a success. COVID-19 will continue to impact us. We anticipate the return to in person meetings and events beginning in September. With people traveling again, and weather being unpredictable, we are planning for Zoom Membership Meetings in the beginning of 2022 (January, February and possibly March).
| President | Mike Koski president@twincitiesslovenians.org |
| Vice President | Chuck Podominick |
| Treasurer | Ruth Pechauer |
| Recording Secretary | Marian Brezovec |
| Membership Secretary | Jean Podominick membership@twincitiesslovenians.org |
| SUA Merber Representative | Mary Ann Setnicker |
At Large Board Members
Elaine Barthelemy, Bob Grahek, Miro Medved, Liz Miller, John Perhay, Rick Pisa, Sue Rademacher, Rich Samec, Norm Setnicker, and John Zakelj
