Book launch celebrates release of Ukrainian Sources Directory (08/04/96)

Book launch celebrates release of Ukrainian Sources Directory

by Maria Koropecky

TORONTO - "Long overdue" was the general consensus among those who attended the Ukrainian Sources Directory book launch, held at Zsa Zsa's, a restaurant in Toronto's Bloor West Village, on June 3.

The 304-page directory, with over 1,200 listings of Ukrainian businesses and community organizations, took two years to research and produce.

Stepha Dmytriw spearheaded the project as publisher-editor. "I've wanted to do this for 10 years, but never found the right opportunity and the right people. We put together an excellent team who were committed to it and saw it through to completion," she said.

Using the directory will allow Ukrainians "to get on ground floor of business opportunities," said Ms. Dmytriw.

Producing the directory was not easy, she said. "Advertisers were hesitant at first because they had been approached by others in the past whose efforts never saw the light of day," said Ms. Dmytriw. "Then we bumped up the circulation to 30,000, which attracted more advertisers," she added.

The Sources team supplemented the directory listings with a 30-page reference and editorial section, which includes a map of the Kyiv subway system, a survey of Ukrainian inventors written by The Ukrainian Weekly columnist Chris Guly, some Ukrainian Internet sites, a list of Ukraine's rulers, a list of medalists from the two most recent Olympiads, information on the Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic Churches, a timeline of selected events in Ukrainian history, and a schematic of the structure of Ukraine's present government and its armed forces.

Some photographs of artifacts from the now-on-hold "Treasures of Ukraine" exhibit were placed at the front of the directory. "When I saw the pictures, I was so taken by them. I knew it was a high- quality project, and I thought it would be so nice if we had a preview of these artifacts," said Ms. Dmytriw.

In addition to being available in hard copy, the same information can be accessed on the Internet. The World Wide Web site is up and running and can be found at http://www.c7.com/us.

Victor Shumuk, president of C7 Communications, designed the Internet site. He paralleled the book and organized the listings under three headings: Business & Professional, Multinational Joint Ventures and Community. He then broke the categories down further into "classified" and "location" indexes.

Mr. Shumuk, whose background is in computer programming and analysis, demonstrated how to use the Internet site at the Sources launch. Out of curiosity, Roman Franko asked to see nursery school listings in Toronto, because he was going to a meeting on the subject later that night. A few computer clicks later, two addresses appeared.

Having an Internet page was not part of the original plan. "I came [in on the project] only about a year ago and told Stepha it was natural to put the information on the Internet," said Mr. Shumuk.

Mr. Shumuk said he designed the web site with great care. "I think it is the most complete, best researched, most thorough out of all of the community directories I've seen because we have included complete mailing addresses, postal codes and e-mail addresses."

The programmer explained that users can send electronic mail directly from the web site with one mouse click. "We're hoping that by putting the information on the Internet, we'll make connections with Ukrainians all over the world," said Mr. Shumuk.

"In the future, we will try to develop more content and more detailed information," he said. Mr. Shumuk also plans to build web pages for individuals and provide more comprehensive listings.

The editorial board still hasn't decided how often the Sources directory will be updated. "We planned this as an annual issue, but what we're waiting for is feedback. We want people to fill out the survey to see if we should proceed with the same sections or not," said Ms. Dmytriw.

To celebrate the completion of the expansive project, the Sources staff invited members of the Toronto professional and business community to Zsa Zsa's Restaurant. The professional dance group Zapariza Nights performed two numbers, one using real swords, Ihor Baczyskyj entertained the guests with a stand-up comedy routine, and throughout the evening the Kari Ochi band played popular Ukrainian songs.

Ms. Dmytriw chose Zsa Zsa's Restaurant to launch Sources because "it had to be somewhere new and in the directory," she said. "It also has a Byzantine-style design. We wanted to make it a classy affair, and we thought Zsa Zsa's was a fitting location for the launch."

The food served up at the book launch by the Ukrainian-owned establishment was excellent. Appetizers such as hummus and pitas, fresh fruit, quiche, cold cuts, shrimp on skewers, mushroom caps with gorgonzola cheese and rosemary, smoked salmon cream cheese, sausages, wontons, scallops and chicken Satay skewers were served.

Once the directory was unveiled, several copies were distributed to the guests. "It looks comprehensive," said photographer Daniel Didka. "I'll have to study it for a while."

"Good to know who is who and what they're doing," said Sonia Sereda, a technician at Quality 1 Hour Photo lab. "I think it will be an excellent promotional vehicle. One way to go in terms of communication."

"[The directory is] long overdue. It puts us on the map. We'll elevate the community a lot in the mainstream's eye when they see all of the segments of businesses that Ukrainians have been involved in. We've been hiding in our own shadow," said Raya Shadursky, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Federation.

Copies of the directory sell for $14.95 at bookstores, or may be ordered by calling (416) 604-8000, or by sending an e-mail message to us@enterprise.ca.

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