Eastlake, Ohio – On Saturday, October 24, 2026 the National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation (NFCACF) convened for its thirty-third Assembly of Delegates Annual Meeting at the Four Points at Sheraton in Eastlake Ohio. This year’s assembly brought together twenty-five delegates from fifteen different organizational groups to review NFCACF’s organizational achievements, and discuss strategic advocacy efforts since the last annual meeting in July 2025.
President Steve Rukavina delivered his State of the Union address to address NFCACF’s advocacy work and membership initiatives. President Rukavina highlighted his participation in several significant events over the past year. These events included: 30 years of the Dayton Peace Accords Conference in Brussels, Belgium; the Association of Croatian American Professionals (ACAP) Conference in Chicago, IL in 2025 and Seattle in 2026; and the Croatia-U.S. Sports Symposium in Alexandria, VA throughout the year. He also highlighted key NFCACF events, including the 1100th Anniversary of the Coronation of King Tomislav at the Embassy of Croatia, and the World Cup Welcome Reception at the Craft Hall in Philadelphia on June 26. This event’s massive success was evidenced by a sell-out crowd and the attendance of notable special guests, including the former President of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar Kitarović.
“The fact that we have been around 34 years working at the nation’s capital, we’ve built up a lot of friends, and we have a good reputation as being an advocate for the Croatian American community,” said President Rukavina during the State of the Union address. “Our work continues, and it’s just something that we have to do.”
The annual Washington Report was delivered by the National Coordinator and Secretary Mark Plavetic. The reports address NFCACF’s continuing efforts to work with Congressional staffers from the Congressional Croatian Caucus. The Croatian Caucus is a bipartisan group of Members of Congress in the House of Representatives that promotes bilateral foreign policy and diplomatic relations between the United States and Croatia. One of the major advocacies is the Avoidance of Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) between the two countries. The treaty was sent to the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Executive Branch on Monday, September 14, 2026. The treaty needs to be passed by the two thirds of the Senate to be ratified and become law.
If ratified, the Treaty would bring significant changes for individuals and businesses with ties to both nations with the reduction or elimination of withholding taxes that place barriers on nvestments and capital gains. This treaty is a great opportunity for investment in both countries in many areas such as defense, IT companies, and small business alike. The treaty continues to have bipartisan support as we push it to the finish line. NFCACF plans to work with ACAP closely to continue our close engagement with our Croatian Caucus and to promote and support this U.S.-Croatia DTT Treaty with U.S. Senators to get it reviewed and approved as soon as possible.
The assembly reports included NFCACF’s member delegates, who brought valuable insight from, and engagement with, the Croatian community. The President of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America (CFU), Ed Pazo, addressed organization’s financially advantageous benefits, scholarship program, its upgrades in technology and its long-time support for NFCACF. Mr. Pazo also mentioned that the CFU created a Joseph Cindrich PhD Award within the Croatian Fraternity Scholarship Foundation to honor his memory and commitment to cooperation between U.S. and Croatian education, especially concerning his program to benefit Indiana and Split universities.
Nikola Metes, President of the Association of Croatian American Professionals (ACAP), discussed membership outreach and provided a debrief on the recent 10th Annual ACAP Conference in Seattle in early October. He described and the organization’s global connectivity not only in Zagreb, but also now with South American Croatian communities. He also described a joint project with the Croatian Olympic Committee to host a Village in the Los Angeles Olympic Games 2028 in San Pedro, California. Mr. Metes announced that the next ACAP Conference will be held in Boston, Massachusetts in early October, 2027. After the ACAP report, Mr. Rukavina again emphasized NFCACF’s engagements in sponsoring the Croatian Special Olympics team over the past thirteen years. It was announced that the NFCACF will raise significant support funds next year to help sponsor the Croatian Special Olympic delegation, which is traveling to the Special Olympics Summer World Games in Santiago, Chile in June 2027.
Andrea Katić-Bruno, President of the Croatian Language School in Boston, delivered a detailed description of efforts to coordinate Croatian schools in the U.S.; focusing on creating a standardized curriculum for first and second-generation Croatian learners and they are proposing a two-week summer camp for North American students.
NFCACF board member Judi Zivić updated the delegates about the Croatian History Series and its two webinars with Croatian historians early this year. Andrea Novak-Neumann shared details about the thirty-year relationship between the Minnesota National Guard and the Republic of Croatia. Nena Komarica presented the NFCACF’s Art Donation Committee. There are three paintings now held the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb that can now be gifted to any Croatian museum. It was discussed that bringing donations from Croatian Americans to Croatian Museums is now complicated by the Croatian government wanting to tax even donated gifts from non-profits. The four national Croatian American Presidents in the meeting, all agreed to collaborate to challenge the lack of a carve-out in Croatian law for donated gifts for charity and philanthropic purposes.
Croatian Sports Hall of Fame Honorary Chair, Vedran Nazor, delivered an update on the committee’s progress in inducting Croatian American athletes into the Croatian American Sports Hall of Fame. He was excited about induction ceremony and banquet to be held that evening at the American Croatian Lodge (Hrvatski Dom) in Eastlake Ohio. “We have had twenty-one famous Croatian American athletes inducted. Tonight, we’re honoring eight more inductees to be enshrined in the Sports Hall of Fame,” said Mr. Nazor.
After the completion of all the status reports, the NFCACF board conducted elections for the new term of the Board of Directors, and officers on the Executive Committee. The newly elected board members include Mirena Bagur, John Bozicevich, Carolyn Bruno, Rose Desput, Derek Hohn, Nena Komarica, John Kraljić, Nikola Metes, Diana Müller, Vedran Nazor, Andrea Novak-Neumann, Hrvoje Pavišić, Mark Plavetić, Steve Rukavina, Bernadette Luketich-Sikaras, Tom Steich, Judi Zivić, and Ron Zivić. Steve Rukavina was nominated and elected as NFCACF President, John Kraljić will serve as Executive Vice President, Bernadette Luketich-Sikaras, Andrea Novak-Neumann, and Diana Müller were elected as the three Vice Presidents. Mark Plavetic will serve as Secretary and Ron Zivić was approved as the acting Treasurer until a suitable replacement can be found.
The meeting next featured a historical presentation by Jeffery Peck, President of the Vis WWII Memorial Center, on the World War II Memorial Center project on the island of Vis. The island served as an emergency airstrip and runway for Allied airmen during World War II. NFCACF is still supporting this project and President Rukavina, Nena Komarica and Biljana Abel all attended the memorial event on the island of Vis on July 5, 2024. The initiative now is to build a museum, partnering with the Croatian Military History Society to honor the heroism of the American and British pilots who utilized the Vis airfield, which is given credit for saving over 4,000 allied airmen in 1944-1945.
In closing the meeting, Croatian Ambassador to the United States, Pjer Šimunović highlighted the strengthened economic and strategic ties between Croatia and the U.S. focusing on Croatian military relations with the Minnesota National Guard, LNG security on the island of Krk, and bilateral business relations. He spoke about American companies such as Jabil in Osijek, and how it represents a significant greenfield investment in the biomedical and medical research industry. He also spoke about regional security especially regarding Croatia’s relations in Serbia which continues to exert geopolitical influence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. He also closed with special thanks to Steve Rukavina and Mark Plavetić for their leadership and important engagements, especially in the Nation’s Capital.
The Ambassador also highlighted the Embassy of Croatia’s military panel exhibition at the Hrvatski Dom in Eastlake Ohio, on Friday, October 23, 2026. This exhibition highlighted the sacrifices of Croatian Americans who served in the U.S. armed forces and was part of the Embassy’s America 250 initative, which featured military history exhibits, cultural concerts and festivals, and a sports symposium in Alexandria, Virginia.
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