A Ukrainian Summer: where to go, what to do...
Joint conferences will bring diverse Ukrainian organizations to Washington
by Irene Jarosewich
PARSIPPANY, N.J. - It's being referred to as "the mega-conference," the "mother of all conferences" and "that really huge get-together in June."
Not simply one large conference, rather a series of concurrent conferences, The Joint Conferences of Ukrainian American Organizations in Washington on June 23-27 is an event whose time has come. Since many Ukrainian American organizations hold annual or biannual conferences, the idea behind the joint conferences was to gather all the organizations in one city at one time to share activities and exchange ideas.
Not only will participants have the chance to see their colleagues from their own organization, they'll have an opportunity to meet many new people, network among various groups, attend sessions at other conferences and get a better sense of what is now important to members of the Ukrainian American community.
The idea of the joint conferences received enthusiastic support: participating in the four days of events will be more than 25 Ukrainian American organizations. In particular, the Association of Ukrainian American Architects (AUAA), The Washington Group (TWG), Ukrainian American Bar Association (UABA), Ukrainian American Veterans (UAV), Ukrainian Engineers Society of America (UESA), Ukrainian Library Association of America (ULAA), Ukrainian Medical Association of North America (UMANA), Ukrainian National Credit Union Association (UNCUA) and Ukrainian National Women's League of America (UNWLA) have all decided to hold conferences this week, and many other organizations will hold executive and annual board meetings.
Close to 1,000 participants are expected at the joint conferences and other joint programs, which are known collectively as Ukrainian Events Week. Besides the conference sessions, approximately 12 other joint events are planned so that members of different organizations and associations can meet new people and greet old acquaintances.
An opening reception will be held at the Embassy of Ukraine on the evening of Wednesday, June 23, followed by a reception on Capitol Hill on June 24, a reception at the U.S. Department of State on June 25 and a gala banquet and ball on the evening of June 26. The four days also include many cultural events, lunch and brunch speakers, as well as power walks along the banks of the Potomac River and a local golf tournament.
In order to encourage entire families to attend, special free sessions on a variety of topics ranging from Ukrainian music, to the Internet, and financial planning will be open to conference registrants and their families. Organized tours of Washington, as well as tours of Ukrainian landmarks in the nation's capital are planned during the conference days.
The main conference hotel, the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City, is a short ride across the Potomac River from the heart of Washington and has an outdoor pool and jacuzzi for additional relaxation and enticement for children.
Roman Goy, a physician who has long-exhibited a talent and commitment to organizing large and successful events for the Ukrainian American community in the Baltimore-Washington area is one of the principal organizers of the joint conferences.
As a member of both the UMANA and TWG, Dr. Goy experienced first-hand the conflict between time constraints and the desire to remain involved in several Ukrainian American organizations. Thus was born the idea of several concurrent conferences, an idea that immediately received strong support, especially since the doctors and the lawyers had already been talking about coordinating efforts to hold joint conferences.
Most of the conferences are being held on Friday, June 25, and participants are encouraged to attend sessions at other conferences besides their own. For an additional $35 (until May 15, $40 after), Friday's conference registrants can also sign up for Saturday's TWG conference. In turn, for an additional $35, TWG registrants can come a day early and attend sessions at the conferences being held on Friday. The exception is the UMANA First International Conference on Health Care in Ukraine, to be held on Friday, the fee for which is $75. There is no fee for the sessions on Sunday. (For a full listing of all the conference sessions, please refer to the special pull-out section to be published in next week's issue of this newspaper.)
To place an advertisement in the program book, to receive vendor and exhibit information, or to register, conference organizers can be reached at 1-800-798-6262. Participants can save money by registering for the conferences by May 15.
Washington is a beautiful city and early summer is one of the best times to be there. So, treat yourself and your family to a long weekend in the nation's capital this year, and join many other friends and colleagues at a great begining to another great Ukrainian American summer!
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, May 2, 1999, No. 18, Vol. LXVII
| Home Page |