Steel Arena comes alive for steelmakers' big day

Ten years in Slovakia - this was the name of the entertainment event which took place in the Steel Arena in Kosice last Saturday, November 13th, and which steelmaking company U. S. Steel Kosice organized to mark the tenth anniversary of its establishment. The show was watched by more than six thousand steelmakers, their family members, friends and acquaintances. There among the audience was the first President of the company, John H. Goodish himself, who was also involved in U. S. Steel's takeover of VSZ, a.s., as well as other members of the top management of United States Steel Corporation from Pittsburgh in the USA, and managers from U. S. Steel Serbia. Invitations to the event were also accepted by Kosice Self-governing Region Chief Executive Zdenko Trebula and Kosice City Mayor Frantisek Knapik.
Through a video link the audience were able to hear a message on behalf of the executive management and Board of Directors of the U. S. Steel Corporation from its President John P. Surma. Together with his congratulations, he commented that the past ten years have been a successful decade for the company and its employees, and he emphasized that the Kosice steelworks is an important member of the Corporation. Of all the company's activities, John Surma made a point of mentioning the progress made in the area of occupational safety, the construction of HDG Line no.3, and the completion of the Steel Arena itself. Pride in the results achieved also resonated in the words of John H. Goodish, who described the Kosice company as one of the leading steel producers in Europe. He also remarked that the prediction from the time of the transaction had been fulfilled, namely that the company would remain a Slovak one, with Slovak employees and a few American managers. He added that he himself had learned a great deal here, and that he had put his experience to good use for the benefit of the company. The Steel Arena also heard greetings from current USSK President George F. Babcoke, who especially praised the excellent work done by the company's workforce. The program, which lasted around two hours and involved action on the ice as well as on stage, featured performances by singers, musical groups and sportspeople from the ranks of both steelmakers and professionals.

Wishing Trees grow again at the steelworks

Children's dreams should be made to come true. That's especially so during the most beautiful holidays of the year. Thanks to the Wishing Tree project, which has become a tradition at the Kosice steelworks during the pre-Christmas period, all employee can do their bit to make them come true. On Monday, November 22nd, Kathleen Babcoke, Maria Kiralvargova, Beata Pitorakova, Becky Beltz and Sandy Napoli hung more than 270 cards on the trees, bearing Christmas wishes from children of the Elementary Residential School for the Visually Impaired in Levoca, the Secondary Specialist School and Vocational School for Students with Visual Disabilities in Levoca, and from the Foster Home in Spissky Stiavnik.

Second meeting this year for long-serving employees

Friday, November 12th, saw the second of this year's meetings for long-serving employees of the Kosice steelworks, marking their 30, 35 and 40 years of employment with the company. The management's invitation to the gala evening combined with the presentation of loyalty awards was accepted by more than 150 employees from the Transport, Power Engineering, Maintenance and Mechanics divisions and from two subsidiary companies, Labortest and SBS.