Rochester professionals honor two Ukrainians of the Year (04/13/97)

Rochester professionals honor two Ukrainians of the Year

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Rochester Ukrainian-American Business and Professional Association (UABPA) has named Lydia V. Dzus and Nicholas Juskiw as recipients of the 1996 Ukrainian of the Year award for their dedicated service, unwavering support and promotion of the Ukrainian American community, as well as their professional association in the Greater Rochester area. The association has honored two recipients annually since its inception in 1990.

The announcement was made in conjunction with the 43rd annual meeting of the Rochester Federal Credit Union attended by approximately 300 people at the Ukrainian Home in Penfield.

Ms. Dzus, president of the Irondequoit Council of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce and director of career planning and graduate placement at Rochester Business Institute, is a lifelong resident of the town of Irondequoit.

Prof. Wolodymyr (Mirko) Pylyshenko, president of the UABPA, noted that Ms. Dzus is the 10th Ukrainian of the Year from the town of Irondequoit, where the majority of the county's 25,000 Ukrainian-Americans reside.

Ms. Dzus' community involvement is of great magnitude. She is a member of the St. Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, where she has dedicated nine years of her dynamic leadership to the board of directors as vice-president, secretary, coordinator of the cultural/educational committee and advisor to the Ukrainian Orthodox League's junior chapter. In addition, she is a member of the church choir, sisterhood, and the Ukrainian Orthodox League.

Her involvement also includes the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, with which she has served as western New York regional board member and archivist, and Branch 120 president, vice-president, and membership chair. In 1994 she was appointed to the Rochester Ukrainian Federal Credit Union's educational committee.

Recently the town of Irondequoit appointed Ms. Dzus to a seven-year term on the Planning Board and to the Irondequoit Partnership Board of Directors. Before being elected president of the Irondequoit Council last year, Ms. Dzus served as vice-president and networking chairperson.

Ms. Dzus also is a talented musical performer. Since 1976 she and her twin sister, Zinnia, have entertained audiences at many events as the "Dzus Twins." They recorded an album/cassette titled "Blossoming Flax." A highlight in their musical career was a special engagement performance for the first president of Ukraine, Leonid M. Kravchuk.

Ms. Dzus has performed as a soloist with church choirs, the Surma Ukrainian National Choir and the new Zhuravli folk ensemble under the direction of Mykola Newmerzyckyj Jr.

Her professional credentials include line, staff and management positions as well as commercial lending at Chase Bank NA and International Travel Agencies of America before joining Rochester Business Institute in 1992.

A resident of East Irondequoit, Ms. Dzus is a graduate of St. John Fisher College.

Mr. Juskiw, is president and CEO of Trident Precision Manufacturing Inc. His leadership at Trident brought the town of Webster milestone recognition when he received the nation's top business honor, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

On December 6, 1996, President Bill Clinton, presented the Baldrige Award to Mr. Juskiw. "This is the way America ought to work," said the president as he presented the most prestigious award in the business world.

Since being honored with the Baldrige Award, Mr. Juskiw has spent many countless hours on the speaking circuit locally, nationally and even worldwide. His speaking engagements included many appearances at Greater Rochester area educational institutions.

Launched in 1979 as an East Rochester tool-and-die operation out of a small garage with three employees, Trident now occupies a 87,000-square-foot facility in Webster and, under Mr. Juskiw's guidance, employs 167 people. It is a $20 million firm with a growing business and gusto for "Excellence In Motion." The company is a contract manufacturer of precision components, electromechanical assemblies and customer products for Eastman Kodak, Xerox, IBM, General Dynamics and other Fortune 500 companies.

Of Ukrainian ancestry, Mr. Juskiw developed a taste of the trade immediately after graduating from Rochester's Franklin High School in 1967, where he gained two years' experience under a work-study program.

In 1974, this young, energetic entrepreneur landed a job as a designer at Xerox and later left to pursue the tool-and-die market. Thanks to his leadership, Trident now has become a respected name in the manufacturing arena.

Mr. Juskiw, who credits his father, Wolodymyr for maintaining his Ukrainian roots, is proud that his company bears the name Trident, which refers to Ukraine's national symbol (tryzub).

Mr. Juskiw, with his wife, Barbara, and their children Andrew and Nicole, are residents of Webster, N.Y.

| Home Page |