The UFA responds

by Roma Hadzewycz

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Asked to comment on the controversy over the sale of Verkhovyna, Ukrainian Fraternal Association President Ivan Oleksyn provided a chronology of events resulting from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department's long-standing pressure on the UFA to sell its resort or else face the possibility of a takeover or a forced merger with another fraternal - and not necessarily a Ukrainian group.

Mr. Oleksyn underscored that the UFA had wanted to sell Verkhovyna to a Ukrainian buyer and, in fact, promoted such a sale by supporting mailings soliciting funds for the purchase and giving the Ukrainian American Cultural Foundation (UACF) the addresses of all its branches.

The sale of Verkhovyna to the UACF was approved during the 1998 UFA Convention and again during the UFA Supreme Council meeting in 2000, at which time council members voted unanimously during a roll-call vote to sell the resort to the UACF. That motion contained two key clauses, one which stipulated that the resort was being sold "as is" and another which provided that if the UACF did not meet specified conditions and deadlines, the UFA could sell to someone else.

Mr. Oleksyn acknowledged that the UFA had inserted a clause into the contact proposed to the UACF stipulating that the foundation could not resell the resort for a period of three years, and he explained that the clause was added because the UFA wanted to ensure that the property would remain in Ukrainian hands.

However, in the end, after four years of discussions, the UACF did not sign a contract with the UFA and "it became evident that the UACF did not have money - not even for a down payment - and thus was not capable of buying the resort," Mr. Oleksyn said. Meanwhile, the Insurance Department kept up its pressure.

UFA Vice-President Stephen M. Wichar Sr. added, "October 31, 2000, was the deadline for the closing, but it never happened because the contract for purchase was not signed. So, I consider that they [the UACF] invalidated this thing with their actions."

Furthermore, Mr. Wichar said that, in accordance with the UFA By-Laws, a simple majority vote by the executive is need to sell the resort. On November 20, 2000, the UFA executive voted to sell Verkhovyna to another interested party, a private individual.

Both UFA officers told The Weekly they believe the judge will rule on March 7 that the UFA acted properly and, as a result, the UFA will be able to proceed with the sale of Verkhovyna to the non-Ukrainian buyer.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 4, 2001, No. 9, Vol. LXIX

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