The Skalny Civic Achievement Award

Award presentation to the Polish Arts Club of Buffalo from the Polish American Historical Association for contributions to Polonia.— with Tomasz Wdowik, Tom Zawadzki, Danuta Nycz-Nakamura and Rev. Nycz at Polish Embassy, Washington, D.C.

On Friday evening, January 3rd, 2014, at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, D.C., the annual Polish American Historical Association (PAHA) Awards Ceremony took place. The Awards Reception was hosted by Minister-Counselor and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy, Maciej Pisarski. In his welcoming speech, he stressed the importance of historical research on Polish-American subjects, reminded all present about important anniversaries in 2014 in regards to Poland, and congratulated all awardees.

The Polish Arts Club of Buffalo (PACB) received the prestigious 2014 Skalny Civic Achievement Award in recognition of outstanding contributions in promoting Polish-American community and culture in the United States. In May 2013 the PACB helped to organize PAHA’s mid-year meeting in Buffalo and invited Professor James Pula to give a presentation entitled Kosciuszko’s Return to America at the monthly meeting. Every year PACB organizes a variety of events such as: presentations on topics related to Poland, concerts, film showings, Biesiada, Wigilia, Installation Luncheon, and art exhibits. Furthermore, every year PACB awards one or two students with the PACB Scholarship.

PACB is also devoted to preservation of the murals by sgraffito artist, Józef Sławiński. For all the hard work that the club does to promote Polish culture, PAHA decided to award PACB with this prestigious award.

This award is very significant because it comes from a national and international organization that promotes research focused on Polish American History and Culture. PAHA, was founded in 1942 as part of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America. In 1948 it became an autonomous scholarly society. Accepting the award on behalf of the Polish Arts Club of Buffalo from PAHA president, Dr. Thomas Napierkowski were: Thomas Zawadzki (PACB Treasurer), Danuta Nycz-Nakamura (PAC Director), Fr. Matt Nycz (PACB Member), and Tomasz Wdowik (PACB Member).

Several other awards were presented that evening for scholarship in various fields. PAHA presented the Skalny Civic Achievement Award to the president of the Jan Karski Foundation, and Wanda Urbanska for promoting legacy of Jan Karski (Polish World War II resistance movement fighter and later professor at Georgetown University). Other awards presented that evening were: Halecki Prize was given to Dr. Beth Holmgren for her book Starring Madame Modjeska: On Tour in Poland and America. The Amicus Poloniae was given to Peter Hetherington, a geologist and author of Unvanquished, a book about Joseph Pilsudski. The Haiman Award was given for sustained scholarly effort in the field of Polish American Studies to Dr. Dominic Pacyga. The annual Swastek Prize was presented to Dr. Anna Mazurkiewicz for the best article appearing in the Polish American Studies. Two Graduate Student Research Paper Awards were given to Marta Cieslak for her paper Crossing the Boundaries of Modernity: The Transatlantic Journey of Polish Peasants to the United States and to Piotr Derengowski for Capt. Alexander Raszewski’s Polish Legion and Other Less Known Polish Troops in the Union Army During the American Civil War.