1994: THE YEAR IN REVIEW: The UNA moves into its second century (12/25/94)

1994: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

The UNA moves into its second century

The Ukrainian National Association began the year by proclaiming that it would be dedicated to the anniversary of the founding of this fraternal organization 100 years ago on February 22, 1894, in Shamokin, Pa. "With reverence for the past, with a vision for the future," was the adopted motto for the centennial celebration, which the Supreme Executive Committee urged all members, branches and districts to mark with appropriate activities.

Among the first anniversary celebrations of the year was The Ukrainian Weekly's special issue dedicated to the centenary, published with the date of February 20. The issue contained a special 12-page pull-out section that offered a decade-by-decade look, via photographs and texts, at "The Ukrainian National Association's First Century" and offered other items of historical interest about this unique Ukrainian institution.

Other centennial publications included the UNA Almanac for 1994 and a special issue of Svoboda. A history of the UNA written by Dr. Myron B. Kuropas on the occasion of the 100th anniversary was completed and was being readied for publication, though not by the University of Toronto Press as originally envisioned.

Centennial festivities got into full swing as the UNA sponsored a gala concert at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, February 19. The event was highlighted by the world premiere of the specially commissioned work by Kyyiv composer Ivan Karabyts titled " Jubilee Cantata." The piece for choir, soprano, bass, piano, cello and percussion, had lyrics by Ukrainian author Mykola Rudenko. Performers at the concert were the Dumka Chorus of New York, the Ukrainian National Choir, Metropolitan Opera bass Paul Plishka, New York City Opera soprano Oksana Krovytska, pianist Mykola Suk, cellist Volodymyr Panteleyev and the Leontovych String Quartet. Pianist Genya Paley and percussionist Michael Sgourous were accompanists. Among the many prominent guests in attendance were Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Oleh Bilorus, and Pavlo Movchan, president of the Prosvita Ukrainian Language Society.

The next day, the UNA hosted a centennial reception at its Home Office in Jersey City, N.J., for its employees, Supreme Assembly members and specially invited guests. Also present were several representatives of the Ukrainian government: Ambassador Bilorus, New York Consul General Viktor Kryzhanivsky; Acting Chief of the U.N. Mission Volodymyr Khandogy; Georgiy Cherniavsky, presidential adviser on protocol; and Serhiy Buriak, consultant to the president of Ukraine.

Centennial celebrations continued throughout the year, with events held from Chicago to Miami, from Philadelphia to Detroit, from Cleveland to New York and elsewhere.

Quadrennial convention

Also at the beginning of 1994, the UNA announced that its 33rd regular convention would be held in Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh Hilton and Towers Hotel on May 6-10. At the quadrennial conclave, the 242 delegates representing 247 UNA branches throughout the United States and Canada re-elected Ulana Diachuk as president, approved changes to the UNA By-Laws and adopted a series of resolutions aimed at directing the UNA's activity at the beginning of the second century of its existence.

Also re-elected as executive officers were Vice-President Nestor Olesnycky and Treasurer Alexander Blahitka. New faces on the executive committee are Vice-Presidentess Anya Dydyk-Petrenko, Director for Canada Peter Savaryn and Secretary Martha Lysko. The retirement of Supreme Secretary Walter Sochan after 45 years of dedicated service to the UNA was met with regret on the part of the delegates, who offered him a five-minute standing ovation in recognition of his work.

But perhaps the biggest news was the amount of young blood and new ideas injected into the 14-member board of advisors, as seven new advisors were elected. Among them were two new advisors who had followed in the footsteps of their families: Stefko Kuropas and Taras Szmagala Jr. For the record, eight of the 25 members of the newly elected General Assembly are under age 50. In fact, if the significant growth in size of the Youth Caucus at the convention is any indication, there is no dearth of youth willing and able to become active in this oldest and largest Ukrainian organization in the world. Perhaps that is why this caucus sought the creation of a standing committee on youth, a suggestion that the convention delegates approved.

The passing of the baton, so to speak, to the younger generation was noted by President Diachuk in her acceptance speech: "My thanks go out to those delegates who correctly understood that the future of this organization lies to a great extent in their hands and cast their vote in favor of candidates from the younger generation, who indicated their willingness to work in the General Assembly for the benefit and the growth of the UNA. We have great hope in their contributions."

Out with "supremes"

Other hot news was deletion of the term "supreme" from the UNA lexicon. No more supreme president, no more supreme auditors, or supreme advisors. The Supreme Assembly is now the General Assembly. New provisions in the By-Laws also provided for expansion of UNA activity beyond the United States and Canada, and recognized that the UNA now has two official publications (no longer referred to in the By-Laws as "organs"), that is the Ukrainian-language daily newspaper Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly, which is published in the English language.

Another amendment provides for elimination of the post of vice-presidentess, creating instead the position of second vice-president; the current position of vice-president will be called first vice-president. These two changes, however, will not become effective until the next elections at the 1998 convention.

At the next convention, incidentally, there are sure to be even more amendments to the UNA By-Laws as, due to time constraints, all the proposals for changes submitted by the By-Laws Committee could not be acted upon at the 1994 convention.

The convention delegates approved a 1994 budget that foresees income of $16.2 million and expenses of $11.8 million. They also approved various expenditures for the UNA's subsidiary operations, including the Svoboda Press, Soyuzivka, the UNA Washington Office and the Canadian Office, as well as an allocation of $50,000 that went toward supporting numerous organizations and projects in the Ukrainian diaspora.

Of special interest to delegates was the fate of Svoboda, as there was fear that the oldest continually published Ukrainian daily in the world would succumb to the high costs of printing and postage. There had been various proposals, including those presented by the UNA's supreme treasurer and supreme president, that the frequency of Svoboda's publication be limited. Delegates would have none of that, however, and they voted to increase the prices of subscriptions to the daily, as well as for The Ukrainian Weekly and the Ukrainian-language children's magazine published by the UNA, Veselka.

There were other controversial issues raised at the convention, including: questions regarding the role, efficacy and cost of the UNA's insurance sales department; allegations of executive officers' "stonewalling" of supreme auditors' requests for information; and discussion over whether the fraternal aspect of the organization had been neglected.

Resolutions adopted by delegates called for a marketing strategy for UNA publications, a special conference to examine the demographics of the Ukrainian American community, better relations and increased cooperation between branch secretaries and the insurance sales force, further development of the UNA Fund for the Rebirth of Ukraine, and activation of the already chartered Ukrainian National Foundation that was to oversee projects aimed at helping Ukraine; expansion of the Kyyiv Press Bureau and the opening of a press bureau in Toronto; and convening the next UNA convention in Canada to underscore the importance of the Ukrainian community in that country and the UNA's commitment to expanding its activities there.

A traveling photo exhibit dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the UNA was unveiled at the UNA Convention. A companion catalogue to that exhibit was printed at year's end. Other convention events dedicated to the centennial were the convention banquet at which Dr. Myron B. Kuropas delivered the keynote address, reflecting on 100 years of UNA history, and the concert on the Pittsburgh University Campus dubbed the "Festival of Ukrainian Songs and Dances."

The newly elected General Assembly officially took the helm on July 1. Supreme Secretary Sochan was given a retirement luncheon at the Home Office, at which he was bid a fond farewell by his co-workers and colleagues at the UNA, Svoboda, The Ukrainian Weekly and the Svoboda Press. Also around that time, The Weekly noted the passing of "supremeness" as the new officers were president, vice-president, auditor, advisor, etc., sans "supreme."

The first meeting of the new UNA Executive Committee was held August 5. Notable decisions included the creation, in accordance with convention resolutions, of both a Youth Committee (a standing committee) and a special committee charged with erecting a monument to the late Patriarch Mstyslav I of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church on the grounds of Soyuzivka. The first review of UNA operations and those of its subsidiaries was conducted by the new Auditing Committee on November 14-16.

Myriad projects

Among the many projects sponsored by the UNA during 1994 was "Youth Alternative," a get-out-the-vote initiative targeted at the young adults of Ukraine before the March 27 parliamentary elections. The brainchild of Freedom House, the project was financed by a UNA grant of $57,000.

In April, the UNA held a workshop for volunteer instructors who would be participating in the annual "Teaching English in Ukraine" program, a joint project of the UNA and the Prosvita Society and the brainchild of Prof. Zirka Voronka. During the summer months, for the fourth straight year in a row, some 100 instructors traveled to various regions of Ukraine. Some of them got together at Soyuzivka in September for a weekend reunion to discuss their experiences, share teaching tips and offer suggestions on how to make the program even better in the years to come.

The UNA's Scholarship Committee met at the Home Office on June 24 and approved the allocation of $98,900 in scholarships to 225 UNA members who are undergraduate students enrolled in colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. Other members benefited from their membership when the organization paid out a dividend of $1 million at the beginning of the year.

On August 20, the UNA headquarters hosted a conference focusing on United States foreign assistance to Ukraine. Its purpose: to share information gathered by the UNA Washington Office on assistance to Ukraine and how such funds are disbursed, as well as tips on how Ukrainian American organizations that sponsor projects aimed at helping Ukraine can apply for government grants for their endeavors. The principal speaker was Eugene Iwanciw, director of the Washington Office and a UNA advisor.

There was other UNA news as well.

Lada Jawny was selected as Miss Soyuzivka 1995 during the annual ceremonies held in August in conjunction with Ukrainian Independence Day observances at the upstate New York resort. She became Soyuzivka's 39th "Miss."

Atanas Slusarczuk, 86, was named the UNA's Fraternalist of the Year and later was chosen for the same distinction by the National Fraternal Congress of America. He was honored at the NFCA convention in Scottsdale, Ariz., in September, receiving an award and a $500 check for his favorite charity, which he promptly transferred to the UNA Fund for the Rebirth of Ukraine.

During 1994, the UNA mourned the passing of many of its members, among them Stefania Halychyn, 81, wife of former longtime Supreme President Dmytro Halychyn (1950-1961).

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