CSF NEWSLETTER

Croatian Scholarship Fund December 2004

Croatian Scholarship Fund P.O. Box 290 San Ramon, Ca 94583 Telephone/Fax 925 556 6263 OFFICERS President Gary Allen Vise President Kristine T. Caratan, CPA Treasurer George Kumparak Secretary Joseph Cindrich, Ph.D. Directors Branko Barbir Neno Duplancic, Ph.D Nina Jurjevic Diroctors Emeritus Robert Bronzan, Ph.D. William Cumbelich Anthony Ujdur Scholarship Liaison Vesna Brekalo Alumni Liaison Mario Vlahovic croatianscholarship.org

A Tribute to a Friend George Kumparak, a valuable member of the CSF Board of Directors for the past 12 years, passed away on November 18, 2004. George was born and raised in Miami, Arizona. His late parents came to this country from the small village of Zaostrog, located on the Adriatic coast of Croatia. George attended San Jose State University where he also did graduate work before taking a position with Hewlett Packard in Sunnyvale, California. He later accepted a position at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where he worked in the Technical Administration Department for 37 years before his retirement in 1991. After retirement, George and his wife, Joan, enjoyed traveling and working on their various hobbies. Both loved to spend hours and hours fixing old grandfather clocks. The Kumparaks were a close family. They had seven children and sixteen grandchildren and enjoyed life. Because of his love for his Croatian

heritage, George became a member of the CSF Board of Directors. Over the past twelve years, he held various offices, including president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. The Kumparaks became committed to assisting young Croatian students attend college in Croatia. They also sent food, clothing and medicine during the time of war in the country’s struggle to gain their independence. George and Joan visited Croatia on several occasions where they met with George’s relatives and the four students they had sponsored. George maintained close contact with his students and often his wife, Joan, would help him with his emails. He continued to provide financial aid for two of his students for two additional years, beyond the CSF limited maximum of four years, so that they could complete their degree in Medicine. George was both a leader and a driving force on the CSF Board of Directors. He was committed to helping young students from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to attend university in Croatia, was very proud that, since the inception of the scholarship program, the CSF has enabled 84 students to earn a college degree. It will be difficult to find a person with the drive and determination of our beloved friend, George Kumparak. His family, friends, and the CSF Croatian community will sorely miss him.

Christmas Appeal

Dear Friend,

The Croatian Scholarship Fund (CSF) Board of Directors would like to express our sincere appreciation for your personal support by providing an opportunity for eighty-four young students from Croatia and Bosnia Hercegovina to graduate. As we approach another Holiday Season, this letter is an appeal to you once again to help the CSF continue our important mission of education. Currently, we have thirty-four students pursuing their dream for an education. Your continued support is vital, as many of these students would never have the opportunity to attend a university without your personal concern and financial help.

We had two very successful events this year and hope to have more in the coming year. This past Spring we had a dinner/dance event in Sacramento, where Mile Zupan and Mike Spalj orchestrated a stupendous party. Our gratitude goes to all the hardworking people in Sacramento. Then, at the end of October, Mr. and Mrs. John Vidovich hosted a Wine Tasting fundraiser at their home in Los Altos Hills, where we had guests from as far away as Los Angeles and Seattle attend the gala.

Even with these successes this year, we still need additional financial support to help as many young students as we can. We know we can count on your continued support and thank you in advance for your consideration. Help us to keep the dream of education for our young Croatian students alive. As these students look to the CSF, we are looking to you in our time of need. Your contribution will be gratefully acknowledged and is tax deductible.

The CSF Board wishes you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Cestit Bozic i Sretna Nova Godina!

Respectfully,

Croatian Scholarship Fund

Board of Directors

Letter from a Student (un-edited) Dear CSF members, I am using this opportunity to thank you from all my heart for deciding to help me in fulfilling my life dream. When I was younger I always dreamed about studying molecular biology but in these days, unfortunately, dreams and strong will are not enough. What upsets me even more is when I see my mother who is trying so hard to afford me decent education so that I don’t need to do everything the hard way as she did. She will not admit that it is becoming harder for her to help me but I can see how much she suffers and how frustrated she becomes when she is not able to help me as much as she would like. Your help will not only ease her life but mine as well. It will also make me feel independent which is very important today for a young man. It gives me faith that there are people in this world who are willing to help you without expecting anything in return, besides your hard work. It is a big consolation today when you know that someone out there appreciates your hard work, sacrifices and ambitions. Everyone often says that money isn’t the most important thing in the world but no one will ever deny that money is essential for a man to survive. Now, knowing that I have the support of the people with big hearts like you, with hope I am looking towards the future. Thank you once more for your aid…my family and I

value that immensely! We wish you all the luck and success in the world. Sincerely yours, Josip Madunic Wine Tasting in October At the end of October, we held the second annual fundraiser at the lovely home of John and Lydia Vidovich, where we’ve raised over fifteen thousand dollars. Over 80 guests attending the gala. The festive ambiance was provided by the Blue Adriatic tamburitza group and our distinguished guest, Consul General, Sanja Bujas Juraga, provided a very Fra. Dujo Boban, Fra. Petar Ljubicic and Lydia Vidovich inspirational speech. The highlight of the evening was the successful silent auction. Our talented Miho Simunovic donated a special painting for the event, which he completed only hours before. He painted a place called Tatinje – Lumbarda, where Lydia was born. Generous Stephen and Gwen Dorcich, from the Dorcich Cellar, donated the wine for the evening and Del Monte provided the delicious food. In addition to opening their home for the fundraiser, John and Lydia Vidovich donated three scholarships. The CSF board thanks the Vidovich family for their generosity in hosting this fundraiser and for being a great supporter. Many thanks to everyone who has donated items for the fundraiser, including the silent auction and attended the gala. We could not have done it without your generosity and support!

Success Story On November 12, 2004, our CSF student Dario Nikic Cakar received an award from a dean Smiljana Leinert-Novosel in the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb, as the best student in his class (4th year of college). For the last two years Faculty of Political Science has been awarding its best student award on the Faculty Anniversary Day and this year Dario received that prize. “I'm very proud for receiving this award because it shows that my hard work is recognized on my faculty. But I'm also aware that I wouldn't achieve this success without help of CSF and my sponsors during this 3 years. The smallest thing I can say to my sponsors Mr. and Mrs Nick Stefanac and Ms.Tatijana Grgich, and also to all the people involved in CSF, is THANK YOU! You make my dreams come true. “ Sincerely yours, Dario Nikic Cakar

Meeting a Sponsor Not every student has an opportunity to meet his or her sponsor in person. Fortunately, this fall, Sandra Milanko, had a chance to meet her sponsor, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bogdanovic. Peter and Pam Bogdanovic live in Cameron Park, California, and traveled to Croatia in late September. They along with another couple spent three weeks in Croatia. They met Sandra in Zagreb and had dinner together where they had a chance to talk and get to know each other. Mr. & Mrs. Bogdanovic were very impressed with Sandra’s English command. Sandra is a freshman at the school of Philosophy majoring in Phonetics and Languages. She is fluent in four languages and will be learning French next. She was very trilled to meet her sponsors and enjoyed the time they spent together. After completing college, Sandra plans to become an interpreter and put her language skills to use.

Volunteers needed

If you like to plan events, design newsletters/web sites, write grants, plan fundraisers, organize silent auctions/tournaments and such, you came to the right place. CSF has many needs. To learn more about how you can help, please contact Branko Barbir at (925.867.3768) or e-mail vbrekalo@msn.com.

Croatian Scholarship Fund __ CSF CONTRIBUTOR - (any amount) __ CSF BENEFACTOR - (1 full Scholarship $1200) __ ADOPT-A-STUDENT - (4 year scholarship) __CSF ENDOWMENT FUND - (permanent fund, any amount) TOTAL In Memory/Name of: ___________________________ Visa # _______________________________________ Exp. Date____________ Signature:________________

$ _________ $ _________ $ _________ $ _________ $ _________

Please make checks payable to CSF P O Box 290 San Ramon, CA 94583 For general information call: 925 556 6263 croatianscholarship.org