UNA executives activate tax-exempt, non-profit foundation

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Association, gathered for its regular quarterly meeting at the UNA Home Office on July 12, activated the previously established Ukrainian National Foundation Inc. by appointing a seven-member board of directors.

The foundation was granted tax-exempt status only this year in June, though it had been established four years ago after the May 1992 meeting of the UNA Supreme Assembly had voted to create a non-profit, tax-exempt foundation for charitable, religious, educational and scientific projects.

The original board of directors of the Ukrainian National Foundation included the four executive officers then serving at the time. Now the Executive Committee voted to expand the board to seven members, including four executive officers and three advisors and/or honorary members of the General Assembly.

Named to the board were: President Ulana Diachuk, Vice-President Nestor Olesnycky, Vice-Presidentess Anya Dydyk-Petrenko, Treasurer Alexander Blahitka, Advisors Roma Hadzewycz and Eugene Iwanciw, and Honorary Member of the General Assembly Walter Sochan.

The Executive Committee meeting also focused on matters such as mergers with two other Ukrainian fraternal organizations, UNA membership statistics and the organization's financial status.

Present at the meeting, which was chaired by Mrs. Diachuk, were: Mr. Olesnycky, Director for Canada Peter Savaryn, Ms. Dydyk-Petrenko, Secretary Martha Lysko, Mr. Blahitka and Stefan Hawrysz, chairman of the Auditing Committee. Also in attendance to report on the Executive Committee meeting for their respective newspapers were Editors-in-Chief Zenon Snylyk of Svoboda and Ms. Hadzewycz of The Ukrainian Weekly.

As is customary, the first officer to report to the meeting was the treasurer.

Treasurer's report

Mr. Blahitka reported that during the five-month period ending May 30, the ledger assets of the UNA increased by $260,157 to $74,795,382. The increase in ledger assets for the comparable period in 1995 was $79,297. During the first five months of 1996 the UNA realized $207,626 from annuity sales. This amounts to $763,090 less than that received during the first five months of 1995. The UNA also collected approximately $16,000 less in dues from members.

As well, the UNA experienced minor reduced investment income, about $16,000 less, during the first half of 1996 as compared to 1995.

Although gross receipts from Soyuzivka remained flat during the first five months of 1996, total disbursements increased to the tune of $27,000, mainly due to the severe winter we experienced, Mr. Blahitka explained.

Cash surrenders paid to members totaled $1,049,000; this was an increase of approximately $900,000 due to the Additional Insurance Program. Matured endowments were paid in the sum of $347,182, which is $40,000 less than a year earlier.

Death benefits paid decreased by $100,000. Expenses for employee benefits continued to be reduced, decreasing by $100,000 due to the UNA's new self-insuring plan. Also, the net deficit from UNA publications decreased by approximately $50,000.

Other expenditures were basically within budget guidelines.

To sum up, the treasurer said, "I feel much better about our ability to meet our future obligations since taking the very difficult cuts in spending promulgated last November."

Mr. Blahitka also reported on the finances of the Ukrainian National Urban Renewal Corp. For the five-month period ending May 31, rentals received were $1,396,485, as compared to $1,250,474 received a year earlier. This shows an increase of $146,011 on a cash basis, or 11.6 percent from 1995.

Operating expenses during the same five-month period were $1,253,964, or $7,212 higher than reported for 1995 ($1,246,752).

The UNA building has approximately 29,000 square feet vacant, giving it a 90 percent occupancy rate. However, Mr. Blahitka cautioned that the UNA occupies about 32,000 square feet without paying rent, and that's another 11 percent vacant, as far as a prospective buyer would view the situation.

Attempts to find a purchaser without a broker failed, therefore, as decided earlier by the UNA Executive Committee and the UNURC board of directors, Mr. Blahitka said, we entered into an exclusive commission agreement with Cushman & Wakefield of New Jersey to market the property. They are in the process of preparing a marketing presentation book. They feel that six months is appropriate time to get a contract of sale signed, but there are no guarantees, he added.

The UNA has received several offers, but all were rejected since they were not within the range we had anticipated, Mr. Blahitka explained.

Finally, the treasurer reported that the executive officers have looked at many possible sites for a new UNA Home Office and currently are anticipating placing an offer on a building in Parsippany, N.J.

Secretary's report

Mrs. Lysko began her report to the quarterly meeting by noting that from January to June of this year branch secretaries had organized 349 new members, for a total of $3,587,870 in new insurance. The following secretaries organized over 10 members each: Longin Staruch (Branch 172), 27 members; Eugene Oscislawski (Branch 234), 16 members; Andre Worobec (Branch 76), 15 members; Myron Pilipiak (Branch 496), 13 members; UNA Advisor Stefko Kuropas (Branch 176) and Atanas Slusarchuk (Branch 174), 10 members each.

Currently, the UNA has 310 active branches and branch secretaries. For the first half of the year, only 135 secretaries had organized one or more members. Thus, only 44 percent of all secretaries exhibited concern about their branch's growth, the secretary reported.

Mrs. Lysko explained that the Additional Insurance Program (AIP) continued to show positive gains, with 1,211 members taking part, bringing in $318,325 in additional premiums. Mrs. Lysko thanked all those who had contributed to the UNA's growth; she added that she encourages all branch secretaries to aim for the addition of two new members by the end of the year.

The secretary of Branch 320, Ivan Rad, passed away in June. Before he died Mr. Rad had prepared his daughter, Maria, to assume leadership of the branch. Among the other new branch secretaries, Mrs. Lysko reported, are Maria Halusczak, who is the secretary of Branch 70 in Jersey City, N.J., Sarah Lazor of Branch 178 in New Hampshire and Myron Dudynsky of Branch 257 in Los Angeles.

The UNA secretary expressed thanks to Michael Medved, Mary Bednarczyk and Helen Wozniak, who worked to ensure that upon resignation of their positions, hard-working new secretaries would replace them.

The secretary reported the following branch mergers: John Scileny, secretary of Branch 11 in Jonestown, Pa., has merged his branch with Branch 96 in Pittsburgh; Michael Iwanycky, secretary of Branch 93 in Rhode Island, has merged with Branch 206; in Indiana, Esther Cebak has merged Branch 100 with Branch 452; Semen Lewyckyj, secretary of Branch 442, in Etobicoke, Ontario, has merged his branch with Branch 401 in Toronto; at the request of Olena Hentish-Brechun, Branch 455 in New York has merged with Branch 489; Anna Zujko, Branch 306 secretary, has merged her branch with Branch 155.

The UNA secretary's newsletter was mailed to all branch secretaries in March and May. Branch secretaries should also have received a Home Office Employee Directory. To aid in the sale of new term insurance, a brochure has been compiled that lists initial premiums for applicants of various ages. At the request of numerous branch secretaries, the code listing of all UNA policies has been reprinted. This list includes the codes for the newest types of insurance being sold in the United States and Canada.

Mrs. Lysko also pointed out that the UNA is continuing to mail the Additional Insurance Program (AIP) proposals to members. Approximately 2,000 of these proposals are mailed on a monthly basis. This program is scheduled to terminate on September 30, 1996.

Plans are under way to print new handbooks for secretaries.

The secretary reported that she had visited the following districts from March to June: Detroit, Chicago, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre and Shamokin, Pa. In addition, she represented the UNA at the Educational Council convention in New Jersey on June 22, and addressed the UNA Seniors' Association meeting at Soyuzivka.

In May the New Jersey State Department of Insurance began its customary three-year audit at the UNA Home Office; we are cooperating with their efforts and providing all documents necessary for the completion of the audit, reported Mrs. Lysko.

A course for secretaries and organizers was held as planned on June 6-8 at the UNA Home Office. Nine new secretaries and secretarial candidates participated in the three-day course taught by President Diachuk, Secretary Lysko and Treasurer Blahitka. This was the first time this courses was held at the UNA headquarters, and this gave the secretaries an opportunity to observe the Home Office at work as well as to understand the interaction between their own jobs and that of the Home Office.

Report of vice-presidentess

During the period from March to July, Ms. Dydyk-Petrenko reported that she was busy with the final preparations for Soyuzivka's summer entertainment programs. Bookings are completed (except for Sunday night of Labor Day weekend - the vice-presidentess said she always hopes something extraordinary comes along and sometimes it does), ads have been published, and both Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly run weekly highlights of upcoming events. Scheduling 10 concerts and dealing diplomatically but firmly with Ukrainian stars tends to get complicated and occasionally runs into difficulties, she noted.

The vice-presidentess extended thanks to the management of Soyuzivka (primarily to the office manager, Sonia Semanyshyn) and to the editors-in-chief of Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly for their patience and enormous help.

Unfortunately, due to a planned vacation in Arizona, Ms. Dydyk-Petrenko said she was not able to attend the annual meeting of the UNA Baltimore District; she did speak to District Chairman Bohdan Yasinsky afterwards.

Report of Canadian director

Dr. Savaryn reported on how he maintains contacts with branch secretaries, and is helping to find younger secretaries to take over branches when longtime officers retire. He also spoke of his contacts with the UNA's insurance office in Etobicoke, outside of Toronto, and said he considers it a good sign that the office is growing.

Dr. Savaryn noted that, from his conversations with UNA'ers and other Ukrainian community members in Canada, it is evident the public is interested in and supports the proposed merger with the Ukrainian Fraternal Association.

The director for Canada reported as well that he represented the UNA at the funeral of Archbishop Maxim Hermaniuk, former metropolitan for Ukrainian Catholics in Canada.

Vice-president's report

Vice-President Olesnycky began his report by noting that during the report period he had been immersed in the matters of the two mergers, those involving the Ukrainian Fraternal Association and the Ukrainian National Aid Association of America, as well as other legal matters concerning the UNA.

Mr. Olesnycky also noted that he had become a member of the UNA Investment Committee, and, on the mortgage front, he said he is setting up a delinquent loan policy for purposes of establishing a procedure and timetable on warnings and foreclosures in situations of delinquency.

The vice-president reported that in June he attended the annual meeting of National Fraternal Insurance Counsels on Sanibel Island, Fla., where the topics were mergers, investments and regulatory matters. He added that he has established a networking relationship with attorneys representing large and small fraternals of both religious and ethnic types. Mr. Olesnycky said he plans to attend the National Fraternal Congress in Nashville in September.

Mr. Olesnycky reported as well that he was part of the UNA team that visited the Office of the Insurance Commissioner of the State of New Jersey in connection with the proposed mergers, the sale of the building and other matters of concern to the commissioner, and that he is in the process of preparing some employment contracts for key employees at the request of the president.

During the July 4 weekend Mr. Olesnycky said he was at Soyuzivka for the opening concert and dance of the season, which appears to be heading for a successful start.

Mr. Olesnycky reported that he had traveled to Soyuzivka on March 22 to discuss the upcoming season with the resort's manager, John A. Flis, along with some plans for a Soyuzivka golf tournament. He represented the UNA executive at the March 23 meeting of the Albany District Committee and on March 24 he attended the meeting of Branch 27 in Newark, N.J.

Report of the president

As of the end of June, Mrs. Diachuk reported, 440 new members insured for nearly $9 million were enrolled into the UNA; this is 90 members and $417,172 of insurance less than during the same six-month period in 1995. Last year 147 secretaries took part in the organizing campaign; this year, thus far only 135 have enrolled new members.

Last year, UNA secretaries enrolled 445 new members insured for $4,339,000, while this year they have organized 293 members insured for $2,092,000.

The professional insurance salespersons thus far this year have enrolled 147 new members insured for $6,783,000. In the previous year they had signed up 134 new members insured for $5,199,000. Annuities sold this year totaled $141,731.

Looking at the organizing campaign in terms of districts, Mrs. Diachuk reported that Toronto leads the way with 81 new members; Newark, N.J., has 53 and Philadelphia, 41.

She also listed the top branch organizers, as Mrs. Lysko had done in her report as secretary.

Regarding UNA publications, the president reported that income during the first six months of 1996 was $666,368, while disbursements were $783,916. The difference is a deficit of $117,548 plus social security payments of $27,914, which adds up to $145,462.

The number of subscribers to Svoboda fell by 917 to 8,663, while the number of Weekly subscribers fell by 853 to 7,836, Mrs. Diachuk reported.

Thanks to nearly a year's worth of efforts, The Ukrainian Weekly will have an accredited correspondent, Staff Editor Roman Woronowycz, at the Summer Olympic Games. The Weekly received its accreditation via the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, and as a result, readers of that paper and Svoboda will have reports about Ukraine's athletes direct from Atlanta, Mrs. Diachuk explained.

She went on to note that Weekly Editor-in-Chief Hadzewycz had prepared a proposal for publication of a book dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear accident. The Executive Committee approved the idea of this commemorative book.

Regarding Soyuzivka, the UNA president said that income at the resort during the first six months of this year was $194,652, whereas last year during the same period it was $196,096. Expenses for this half year totaled $496,872, a sum greater by $62,000 from that disbursed by the same time last year. Costs of utilities alone had increased by $13,000 due to the severe winter and a cold spring, Mrs. Diachuk noted. Costs of employee salaries remained nearly the same as last year, while the purchase of food and refreshments increased by $25,000 from last year.

In other news at the resort, Mrs. Diachuk reported that the Q-Café had been completed and is already functioning, and that the annual Father's Day program was successful. She also reported on Soyuzivka camps: the pre-schoolers' camp ("Tabir Ptashat") had over 100 children enrolled during its two one-week sessions; the tennis camp had 43 participants; the children's camp had 50 children enrolled; while the dance workshop was filled to capacity.

The Soyuzivka kitchen, directed by the resort's new chef, Andrij Sonevytsky, has received compliments from many guests, Mrs. Diachuk noted. She then presented a new color brochure that publicizes the resort.

At the conclusion of her report Mrs. Diachuk turned to the editor-in-chief of Svoboda and asked him to report on the 1997 UNA Almanac. Mr. Snylyk noted that the volume would be dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Akcja Wisla, the forced resettlement by the Polish government of Ukrainians from ethnically Ukrainian territory in eastern Poland to western Polish territory; the 70th anniversary of the historic first three "universals" that led to the Fourth Universal, which proclaimed an independent Ukrainian National Republic in 1918; and the 50th anniversary of the beginning of post-World War II emigration of Ukrainians.

Miscellaneous

The Executive Committee named a By-Laws Committee that will be activated for the special convention to be called to approve a merger of the UNA and UFA. Its members are: Advisor Alexander Serafyn (chairperson), Auditor Anatole Doroshenko, Advisor Walter Korchynsky and Honorary Members of the General Assembly Anne Chopek and John O. Flis.

The matter of the merger between these two fraternal benefit societies is now in the hands of the State Insurance Department of New Jersey. UNA officers traveled to Trenton, N.J., in late June, but officials there were not ready to discuss specific issues regarding the merger. The UNA now has to prepare projections on how the new merged entity would stand in terms of finances, surplus, etc., for presentation to the state authorities.

Three UNA officials, President Diachuk, Secretary Lysko and Mr. Sochan, who is on the special UNA committee created to conduct negotiations with the UFA, attended the recent meeting of the UFA Assembly at which the organization's directors voted to proceed with the merger with the UNA.

At the conclusion of the quarterly meeting, the officers voted to give a $1,000 donation from the UNA Fund for the Rebirth of Ukraine to help schools in the Donbas and Luhanske regions of Ukraine. The grant was solicited by Prof. Vitaliy Keis, who has taught courses in eastern Ukraine.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, August 11, 1996, No. 32, Vol. LXIV

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