EDITORIAL: The UNA moves on (05/15/94)

EDITORIAL

The UNA moves on

The Ukrainian National Association's 33rd Convention began and ended with references to youth. Hopefully, that will be a harbinger of things to come as this fraternal organization celebrates its centennial.

The convention opened with remarks by Supreme President Ulana Diachuk who noted that youth is destined to take over the leadership of the UNA and pointed to the younger generations of UNA'ers already following in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents. The five-day conclave concluded with the election to the 25-member General Assembly (formerly the Supreme Assembly) of eight persons under the age of 50 - two of them to the Executive Committee.

A further indication of the rejuvenation of the UNA ranks was the fact that there were 30 persons present at the Youth Caucus - more than in recent memory - and 14 of them were candidates for office. It was this caucus that prepared the innovative resolution calling for the creation of a standing committee on youth, with a budget, whose function will be to develop a comprehensive program to attract younger members into the UNA and encourage younger members to become active on the local, district and national levels.

Thus, youth made its presence felt at the convention and strongly indicated a burgeoning involvement in UNA affairs. The 33rd Convention will go down in history also as the one that stated unequivocally that Svoboda must remain a daily, as delegate after delegate rose to speak of the importance of the Ukrainian-language newspaper and its role as one of the major fraternal benefits provided by the UNA. To that end, the delegates approved an increase in the subscription fees charged both UNA members and non-members for Svoboda, as well as The Ukrainian Weekly and Veselka.

Among other developments at the convention: delegates approved donations totalling $50,000 to various scholarly, religious and community organizations; and passed resolutions calling for, among other things, a marketing strategy for UNA publications, a special conference to examine the demographics of the Ukrainian American community, better relations between branch secretaries (the mainstay of the UNA) and the association's new insurance sales force, the further development of the UNA Fund for the Rebirth of Ukraine and the activation of the already chartered Ukrainian National Foundation which was to oversee projects aimed at helping Ukraine. As well, delegates gave the green light to resolutions calling for: the expansion of the Kyyiv Press Bureau to two full-time correspondents; the opening of a press bureau in Toronto; initiating distribution of Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly in Ukraine; and holding the next UNA convention in Canada to underscore the importance of the Ukrainian community in that country and the UNA's commitment to expanding its activities there.

Among the topics of discussion, at times quite heated, were the work and expenses associated with the professional insurance sales force, whose performance, the Secretaries' Committee noted, had "fallen short of expectations" in reversing the UNA's decline in membership. The managerial style of two executives and their lack of responsiveness came under attack, as did the idea that the UNA headquarters building in Jersey City, N.J., might be sold. Delegates agreed that cost-cutting measures are needed in various facets of the UNA's activity, but they also demanded that stricter and more precise accounting procedures be followed to keep closer track of expenditures - department by department.

Delegates approved changes to the UNA By-Laws, some dealing with terminology, as the term "supreme" has been banished, some bringing the UNA into compliance with modern insurance standards. However, due to poor planning (which provided no room for evening sessions and cut a half day out of the convention due to Sunday services), the convention simply did not have time to review all the proposals prepared for the delegates' review by the By-Laws Committee. Thus, the culmination of three and a half years of work by the Special UNA By-Laws Committee will now be put off until the next UNA convention in 1998.

So, what can one say about the 33rd UNA Convention? To put it simply: there was some progress, but perhaps not as much as had been expected.

Nonetheless, the UNA has moved ahead into its second century of service.

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