This website, as well as the Club Facebook page, has been crafted by Michael Palinkas and we all owe him abundant thanks.

As part of the new website, you will be receiving emails about Club events and news from the website itself. I think you will agree the new format is an improvement.

Even though you are currently a member of the Club and receive our emails we ask you to visit the new website, go to the "Join" page, and fill in your information.

We only require three bits of information: email address, name, and zip code.

All other information boxes are optional. But, we feel that gathering this additional information will be useful. Some questions include:

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High School Graduation Year
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This information will allow us to create and maintain a Member Registry. Such a Registry will allow you to network with other members who share common interests and backgrounds and will allow the Club to develop future events and initiatives that better fit our member's interests.

We suggest you "bookmark" the Club website to your browser - the quicker to check Club news, events and announcements.

Thank you for your interest in the Club. We welcome your suggestions.

Michael Palinkas

October 9, 2017

Former Ambassador to Slovakia Tod Sedgwick Explained Cleveland's Contribution to Central European Democracy

Michael Palinkas

October 9, 2017

Former ambassador to the Slovak Republic Tod Sedgwick spoke to the Cleveland Club on September 26, 2017, stressing the ties between Czechoslovakia and Cleveland. Speaking at the law firm Jackson & Campbell, Sedgwick pointed out that during the latter half of the 19th century representatives of American industrial corporations actively recruited in Central Europe, helping to stimulate a significant migration of Czechs, Slovaks and others to American mills. Once World War I broke out, Czechs and Slovaks in Cleveland got together in 1915 and wrote the Cleveland Agreement, a bold and original statement calling for an independent and democratic Czechoslovakia to be formed from portions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire then at war with Britain and France, later to be at war with the United States. In 1918 Czechoslovakia joined the family of nations.

Sedgwick said the Cleveland Agreement of 1915 was fundamental to the formation of the Czech and Slovak nation, which of all the countries formed after World War I, retained democracy longest in the inter-war period. Sedgwick said that the work done in Cleveland in 1915 paved the way for strong relations between the United States and Central European countries. "When I was Ambassador to Slovakia, I kept a copy of the Cleveland Agreement in the foyer of my official Residence for anyone walking in to see," he said. He also noted that his Residence was decorated with art by Cleveland Slovak artists.

Efforts he is proud of from his work as ambassador include keeping natural gas flowing to Slovakia from the Ukraine despite Russia's attempt to cut it off; spurring Slovakia to spend more on its national defense; and working with U. S. Steel Corporation to retain its mill in the eastern part of the country, a presence that would defend against Russian influence in the region. Ambassador Sedgwick said he feared the notion of the United States being the "beacon of the world" for democracy and freedom was slipping in the face of the notion that the United States was overly militaristic and aggressive. He warned against increasingly effective Russian propaganda and called for better efforts by the United States to present its message to Central and Eastern Europe.

Ambassador Sedgwick noted the presence in the room of the first U. S. ambassador to Slovakia, Ted Russell, and praised him for his work during the difficult period of the formation of the new nation. Also in attendance were Josef Polakovic, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Slovak Embassy, as well as representatives of Slovak Public Television and the U. S. State Department.