On Sunday, 23rd April 2023 at the High School Nova Varos, at noontime, an official award ceremony "Professor Borivoje Jelic" was held on the occasion of the literary contest on the subject "Honour your father and your mother", which took place at the said school.

Official presentation of the "Professor Borivoje Jelic" award

The official award ceremony was attended by, apart from the High School and "Petar Mandic" Endowment representatives, the parents, the professors and friends of the award winners.

First to address the audience was the school principal, Branka Rakonjac. In her inspired speech she emphasized the importance of friendship during schooldays, since she and the founder of the "Petar Mandic" Endowment are also school friends. She then informed the audience of the cooperation between the two institutions and then proceeded to read an exceptional text by Professor Borivoje Jelic, entitled "The edification of grandpa Vladimir" from his short story collection "People from hills and climbs".

Then Stefan Mladenovic, Iva Randjelovic and Andrea Saponjic (the award winners) as well as Andrijana Ranitovic and Kalina Rakonjac (outstanding entries' authors) read out their compositions, while Professor Nikolina Krdzavac prefaced each reading with the jury's opinion of each one. At intervals between readings, Kalina Rakonjac played a few piano compositions and enchanted the audience with her musical ability.

After reading out the entries, the audience was addressed by Nikola Puric, the Managing Board President of the "Petar Mandic" Endowment and he acquainted the audience with the history of this charitable institution, founded in memory of Nikola Tesla's priestly ancestors, with the aim of affirming parenthood, supporting the education of young generations, promoting high-quality dialogue between science and religion, and other aims.

Mr. Puric put special emphasis on the forthcoming erection of the ethno-museum complex in Radoinja, planned to be built in the coming years, to the glory of God and in honour of Nikola Tesla’s priestly ancestors.

Lastly, the audience was addressed by Presbyter Oliver Subotic, in a sermon conveying to the students the importance of honouring one's parents, multiplying one's God-given talents and using one’s time for the acquisition of knowledge and virtues. He put special emphasis on the enormous contribution that Tesla's parents and his familial priestly surroundings had on the formation of his personality, as well as the contribution of his uncle, a priest and later a Metropolitan Petar Mandic.

He ended his exposé by reiterating the message that Professor Borivoje Jelic gave to the generation '77 graduates, at their last Serbian language and literature lesson in June 1996: "The most important thing is that you become good people".

Copies of the book Tesla: Duhovni lik (Tesla: The Spiritual Character) were then awarded. The book's author then received a reciprocal gift in the form of a portrait, made by Kalina Rakonjac, a student with an artistic, as well as a literary and a musical gift.

A cocktail ended the occasion, organized by the High School.