THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM (02/17/02)

THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM

Notice to UNA members regarding UNA-UFA merger

In January, a news item was printed in both of the Ukrainian National Association's weekly newspapers, Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly, notifying the UNA membership and the whole Ukrainian community that the leadership of two fraternal organizations, the Ukrainian National Association and the Ukrainian Fraternal Association, had held a joint meeting in Scranton, Pa., on January 11. The aim of the meeting was to review the possibility of a merger of the two organizations at their scheduled conventions in 2002.

This news elicited a great amount of interest among the membership of the UNA. After reading about the possible merger, members started calling the Home Office for detailed merger information. It is our duty to inform our members that in the past month we have had no response from the leadership of the UFA in regard to matters discussed at the January 11 meeting, nor was any attempt made to set up another meeting.

The UNA Convention is scheduled to begin on May 24. In accordance with the requirements of the statutes of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the agreement of merger has to be printed in the official publications not later than 60 days before the convention, or by March 24, but such a merger agreement does not yet exist. We also must seek tentative approval for the merger from the Insurance Department of New Jersey, which might take a long time to achieve, and to this day not much has been accomplished in that respect. The UFA has been notified of all these requirements.

Due to the fact that, to this date, the merger of both organizations has not been properly prepared, we have only a very slim hope that the merger will be on the agenda of the UNA Convention. Should the deliberations start anew, we will notify our membership in our official publications.

Ulana Diachuk
President

Young UNA'ers

Emily Callis (photo on the left), daughter of Joe and Anne Bobeczko Callis, and Alexander Paul and Zachary Philip Bobeczko (photo below), sons of Paul and Laura Bobeczko, are new members of UNA Branch 102 in Cleveland. All three are grandchildren of Gerald and Mary Jo Bobeczko. The children were enrolled by their great-grandparents Nicholas and Mary (Szmagala) Bobeczko. The three cousins joined the UNA to mark the 100th anniversary of Ss. Peter and Paul Branch 102, which falls on October 6, 2002. Other members of the extended Bobeczko family who were enrolled by Nicholas and Mary Bobeczko of Middleburg Heights, Ohio, are: Laura Bobeczko of Arlington, Va., (wife of Paul Bobeczko); Kristin Bobeczko of Chicago, (wife of Gregory W. Bobeczko, who is the son of Daniel and Oxana L. Bobeczko and grandson of Nicholas and Mary Bobeczko); Nicholas Gyure of Mentor, Ohio (husband of Andrea L. Bobeczko Gyure, who is the daughter of Daniel and Oxana Bobeczko and granddaughter of Nicholas and Mary Bobeczko); and Stacy Ann Mango of Westlake, Ohio (daughter of Cheryl Bobeczko Mango, grandniece of Nicholas and Mary Bobeczko).

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