You do not need to be a member of the Navy League, or have a reservation, to attend the in-person meeting, and the general public is welcome.
The Aurora Navy League Council 247 will hold its Tuesday April 18 dinner meeting at the private room of the Riverview Diner, IL-25 and Mill Street, Montgomery.
A reception will begin promptly at 5 p.m. followed by a meeting at 5:30 p.m. with dinner afterward. The cost is $25 all-inclusive if an entree is ordered, or $20 for the dinner salad featured that evening. Free entry without food. The meeting will conclude no later than 8 p.m..
The after-dinner speaker is Mr. Krzystof (Christopher) Laskowski, who will be traveling from Gdynia, Poland (on the Baltic) to Chicago to deliver this talk. His topic is, “The Ukraine/Russia War from a Polish Perspective.” Mr. Laskowski is a partner in an ocean shipping brokerage firm that covers all three Polish seaports in the Baltic Sea. He has taken in Ukrainian refugees into his home and his firm has sent buses to the Ukraine to extract Ukrainian citizens from war-ravaged areas into Poland.
His brother, Mariusz, was an active Solidarity member who directly supported Lech Walesa in the ouster of the Soviet Union from Poland (with the help of Pope John Paul II, Margaret Thatcher, and president Ronald Reagan). Brother Mariusz was posted in Kiev, Ukraine for several years as a regional sales manager for a Polish company, so the family is well acquainted with the Ukrainian culture, politics, and citizenry.
Mr. Laskowski has been with his firm, Morska Agancja Gdynia Ltd, since 1984 (39 years). He was a member of its privatization team in 1991 as Poland prepared to oust the final remnants of its occupation by Soviet Russia. He led its restructuring team following privatization and is active in business development for the company. He has been a Board member since 2003.
His education includes: an M.SC. in International Business and post- graduate studies in business law from the University of Gdansk, Poland; A British government scholarship in management training from the British Institute of Management, UK; and post-graduate studies in Business Administration from Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia.
He and wife, Dzeneta (who will accompany him to this dinner meeting), have two grown sons and live in Gdynia Poland (one of the tri-cities on the Polish Baltic of Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia). They enjoy their grandchildren and have traveled the world extensively.
All are invited to this event. Only those who order a meal are required to pay for the meal. Others may attend at no-charge.
The Aurora Council is having a membership drive, and will pay half of the first year’s dues for new members, an excellent opportunity to attend an interesting event, and determine whether to join Aurora Navy League.
—Aurora Navy League Council 247