Polish American Congress

of Eastern Massachusetts

tel (508) 429-1305
email: PAC/EMass

Polish American Congress of Eastern Massachusetts

The national PAC was established on May 29–30, 1944, as an umbrella organization composed of over 3000 fraternal, veteran, cultural, educational, professional, parish, and social organizations. PAC also accepts individual membership. Presently, with 27 divisions, PAC is represented in 17 states and the District of Columbus. In Massachusetts two divisions exist (for eastern and western parts of Massachusetts, PAC/E. Mass. and PAC/W. Mass. On the federal level, the governing body of PAC is the Council of National Directors (CND) which meets twice a year and consists of persons elected by their respective divisions and the national PAC. Day-to-day operations are conducted by the Executive Committee elected every 2 years by CND. On the division level, the governing body is the Board of Directors which is elected for a two-year period by members of the division. Since its establishment, PAC, with all divisions and chapters, has been pursuing one general mission: to serve the interests of Polish Americans and the people of Poland. Within this general mission, each PAC division sets its specific goals.  

Goal I: To unite Polonia of northeastern New England in order to strengthen the image and influence of Polish Americans

To realize this goal, we strive to

• build and sustain a Polish American lobby on the local and state levels and support such a lobby on the federal level
• assist Polish Americans in being elected to political offices
• respond to misconceptions and misstatements regarding Poles, Poland, and Polish Americans
• support the development of Polish American political, cultural, social, and economic networks
• lobby the United States Postal Service to issue a commemorative postal stamp honoring Lt. Col. Matt Louis Urban (shortened from Urbanowicz) as one of the two most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. See our Links page for the story o/Lt. Col. Urban
• lobby the federal government to include Poland in the Department of State's Visa Waiver Program
• develop relationships with Polish American politicians and appointed public officials
• encourage Polish immigrants to the United States to become American citizens as soon as possible
• encourage Polish visitors to the United States not to overstay their visits

Goal II: To help Polonia preserve its roots and culture

To realize this goal, we strive to

• encourage Polish Americans to become members of established Polonian fraternal, religious, veterans, civic, and cultural organizations, and indeed, should the need arise, create new Polonian organizations as well
• sponsor anniversary celebrations and cultural events
• endorse and support the expansion of New England's only Polish center established for purposes of education, scholarly research, culture, exhibitions, musical performance, and conferences. See our Links page for the Polish Center of Discovery and Learning

Goal III: To support Poland in sustaining its independence, democracy, and economic well-being

To realize this goal, we strive to

• encourage American tourism to Poland
• assist in facilitating contacts between American and Polish political, educational, economic, research, scientific, military, and cultural representatives
• encourage at every opportunity more business investment in Poland by American entrepreneurs of both Polish and non-Polish ancestry

Board of Directors 2007-2009

Officers

• Dean Anthony J. Bajdek, President
• Marcin A. Bolec, Vice President
• Atty. Elzbieta Nowakowska, Vice President
• Richard Pilat, Treasurer
• Atty. Mark P. Szpak, Corresponding Sectetary
• Teresa G. Czerepica, Recording Visual Archivist

Directors

• Ferdynand Dabkowski
• Prof. Mark A. Kon
• John S. Lenkiewicz
• Robert J. Matusik
• Roman A. Pucko, Jr.
• Aniela Slusarz
• Thaddeus Tomaszewski

PAC/E. Mass. Newsletter

• Atty. Elzbieta Nowakowska, Editor-in-Chief

PAC/E. Mass. Website

• John Goclowski, Webmaster

National Directors, 2007-2009

• Dean Anthony J. Bajdek
• Marcin A. Bolec
• Atty. Elzbieta Nowakowska