Host city readies for UNA conclave (12/27/81)

Host city readies for UNA conclave

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Preparations for the 30th UNA Convention are progressing steadily in this upstate city of 300,000 nestled on the Genesee River and Lake Ontario, as the UNA District Committee chaired by Wolodymyr Hawryliak gets ready to host hundreds of delegates and guests expected to attend the big event at the Holiday Inn in May 1982.

According to a recent letter from Mr. Hawryliak to the Supreme Executive Committee headquartered in Jersey City, N.J., several committees have been created to oversee every facet of the convention from the pre-convention concert and opening gavel to the closing banquet.

Special committees have been set up to coordinate financial matters, the press, registration and the publication of a convention souvenir journal.

The journal will include information on Rochester and its Ukrainian community and a list of delegates and UNA officers along with their contributions to the organization and the Ukrainian community. Costs will be covered by accepting paid greetings from UNA branches and district committees, as well as other organizations and individual UNA boosters.

The choice of Rochester as the convention site was clearly not arbitrary. This old port and canal city has a strong UNA tradition dating back to 1908 when the first UNA branch - 217, the Brotherhood of St. Josaphat - was formed. Less then a year later, a second branch was founded, UNA Branch 316 (Free Kozaks). Subsequently, five more branches were established in the City of Flowers.

Moreover, Rochester provided the UNA with one of its supreme presidents, Mykola Murashko, whose 20 year tenure as executive head is the longest in the fraternal organization's history.

When Mr. Murashko took office in 1929, the UNA had 23,842 members and total assets of just over $2 million. When he left in 1949, membership had grown to 56,009, and the UNA was worth $11,167,057. Mr. Murashko also headed the First Congress of Ukrainian Americans in 1940 and was the first head of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of North America.

Rochester also hosted the 16th UNA Convention way back in 1925.

Mr. Hawryliak reported that all the committees are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to ensure that the convention goes on without a hitch.

| Home Page |