UAV chapter in Florida expands its multi-faceted activity (06/16/02)

UAV chapter in Florida expands its multi-faceted activity

by Dr. Karen Bapst

NORTH PORT, Fla. - The state of Florida acquired its first, and thus far only, Ukrainian American Veterans post in 1999, officially designated as the Cpl. Roman G. Lazor Post 40 of the UAV. The Florida post requested the designation as No. 40 as a way of honoring its home city of North Port, which celebrated its 40th birthday the same year the post was organized. The post's patron is one of its original members, Mr. Lazor, a highly decorated Army veteran of the Korean War who passed away on May 18, 2001, and who was given a military funeral by the post.

Post 40 owes its existence to the initiative of Atanas Kobryn. A past national commander of the UAV, Mr. Kobryn is a prominent activist in the North Port community, where he has recently served as president of the Friends of the North Port Area Library, president of the local chapter of Kiwanis, and public relations officer of the Ukrainian American Club of Southwest Florida. Mr. Kobryn also writes a weekly column on Ukrainian matters which has appeared in the North Port Sun Herald since 1996, and in December 2001 was named North Port's Citizen of the Year. The first commander of UAV Post 40, Mr. Kobryn currently serves as its judge advocate.

Mr. Kobryn was succeeded as post commander in October 2000 by Jerry (Jaroslaw) Zinycz, an Air Force veteran who has continued to put the post on a more solid organizational foundation and under whose leadership the membership has grown to more than 30.

Since its inception, the post has regularly joined other local veterans' organizations in observing Memorial Day and Veterans' Day, when post members also place flags on the graves of veterans and participate in memorial services at local Ukrainian churches. The post joins the Ukrainian American Club each December for an annual holiday party; and on November 10, 2001, the post held its first annual Veterans' Day dinner-dance, at which UAV National Adjutant Peter Polny presided over the installation of new officers and presented the post with its charter.

The Florida post has already made an impact on the UAV, which found it necessary to amend its National Constitution and By-Laws at the 2001 convention to provide for a "hot weather uniform."

Most recently Post 40 donated $100 to The Ukrainian Weekly's "Copies for Congress" program, which provides free subscriptions to members of the U.S. Congress. The post also issued a challenge to other UAV posts to do the same.

* * *

Honorably discharged veterans from all branches of the United States armed forces who are either of Ukrainian descent or married to someone of Ukrainian descent are eligible to join the UAV. For more information about UAV Post 40 contact: Jerry Zinycz, Commander; 598 Aston Woods Court, Venice, FL 34293-4194; telephone, (941)492-4860; e-mail, ojzin@prodigy.net.

| Home Page |