UUARC's 18th congress elects new officers (08/05/01)

UUARC's 18th congress elects new officers

PHILADELPHIA - The United Ukrainian American Relief Committee held its 18th congress on Saturday, June 23, on the premises of the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center. The program included confirmation of the membership, nominating and resolutions committees, reading and approval of the 1998 congress minutes by the recording secretary, Dr. Natalia Pazuniak, reports from the executive board and the working committees, and the election of a new slate of officers for the years 2001-2004.

President Larissa Kyj reported on the UUARC's activities over the last three years, projects which included flood relief for Zakarpattia, disaster relief to miners in Krasnodon, capital improvements and equipment for orphanages and schools through the Petrach Fund, the Adopt-a-Grandparent Project and the Brazil Land Fund, as well as the activities of the Aid Committee, which meets every month and painstakingly reviews as many as 40 requests for assistance from individuals and organizations, which are granted based on the availability of funds by the UUARC offices in Lviv and Kyiv.

Dr. Kyj also appealed for volunteerism, stressing the growing need of Ukrainians in Ukraine and throughout the world, specifically noting that 2001 is the United Nations International Year of the Volunteer.

UUARC Executive Director Stefan Hawrysz gave the next report, filling in many of the details concerning the containers shipped and aid delivered to groups, as well as the work of the UUARC's three major benefactors, Hryhoryj Malynowsky, Ivan Kark and Bohdan Kurylko.

Reports were also read by Secretaries Ivan Krych and Dr. Pazuniak, and by Metodij Boretsky, director of the UUARC's information bureau for recent immigrants, which holds an open house two Saturdays a month and has successfully conducted many meetings with the immigrant community, as well as three citizenship training courses.

Dr. Ivan Skalchuk gave his final report on the Brazil Land Fund, initiated by the UUARC in 1984. The fund is administered by a committeee in Brazil, headed by the Rev. Baltzar, and lends "seed" money for farmland to poor families of Ukrainian descent, who repay the loans through sales of produce grown on the land. This very successful program now has over $900,000 and Dr. Skalchuk estimates that by 2002 the fund will be valued at $1 million. Since the last UUARC Congress, the project was visited by Jurij Nakonechnyj, president of the Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM) and secretary of the UUARC's Internal Audit Committee.

After a short period of questions and discussion, the vice-chair of the Internal Audit Committee, Ihor Smolij, presented the committee's report and moved to give approval to the outgoing board. The motion was passed unanimously.

The Nominating Committee introduced the slate of officers it had prepared, and, after a few questions, the president and the board of directors were elected as nominated.

The list of newly elected officers follows:

President: Larissa Kyj;
Vice-presidents: Ulana Diachuk, Ivan Oleksyn, Msgr. Thomas Sayuk, Ihor Kushnir, Luba Siletsky;
Executive director: Mr. Hawrysz;
Secretaries: Mr. Krych, Dr. Petro Kluk, Lew Iwaskiw;
Treasurer: Roksolana Luciw;
Executive board: Vera Andrychyk, Christine Bak-Boychuk, Mr. Boretsky, Wolodymyra Kawka, Michael Kowalczyn, Christine Kulchyckyj, Daria Laszyn, Mykola Pryszlak, Dr. Wasyl Salak, Chrystia Charyna Senyk;
Board of directors: Stephan Boychuk, Ivan Burtyk, Maria Duplak, Ivan Kobasa, Petro Kosek, Dr. Pazuniak, Nadia Petryk, Paul Prinnko, Dr. Skalchuk, Teodor Tsaryk, Myroslaw Szmigel, Wolodymyr Waskiw;
Auditing Committee: Kvitka Semanyshyn, Mr. Smolij, Mr. Nakonechny, Michael Nytsch and Wolodymyr Ryndycz.

After the congress resolutions were approved, Iwan Yaworsky presented the president with a check for almost $1,400, which represents the proceeds from the 15th annual Chornobyl Concert in Philadelphia, sponsored by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council and the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center. The money is designated for an orphanage in the Chornobyl region.

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