1997: THE YEAR IN REVIEW
The UNA: moves, mergers and missions
How does one describe what 1997 was like for the Ukrainian National Association? It was a bittersweet year for the UNA as it sold its headquarters building in Jersey City, N.J., and moved to new quarters 30 miles westward in Parsippany, N.J., released its long-awaited centennial history, made its debut in cyberspace and prepared for its next regular convention, which is to be held in 1998.
The 15-story headquarters building in Jersey City was sold on August 14 for $21.2 million to Montgomery Associates. The decision to sell the building had been approved by the UNA General Assembly in May 1995 after the UNA Executive Committee reported that there was pressure from New Jersey state insurance authorities, who had expressed concern over the significant financial investment that would have to be made to renovate the building. The agreement of sale was signed on May 16 after the UNA accepted the highest bid offered for its building. The offer was approved on April 19 by the special committee on the sale and purchase of UNA headquarters buildings established by the UNA General Assembly, whose members are: the five members of the UNURC board of directors, Ulana Diachuk, Martha Lysko, Alexander Blahitka, Alexander Serafyn and Walter Korchynsky; auditors William Pastuszek and Anatole Doroshenko; and Honorary Member of the General Assembly John O. Flis.
The special committee was charged with reviewing all bids on the UNA headquarters building in Jersey City, and with approving the purchase of new facilities for the UNA Home Office and its publishing house.
Soon thereafter, the special committee approved the purchase of a new headquarters building, owned by the Fidelco Group, in Parsippany for $4,931,250. The closing took place on August 28, and the move to the new building took place over the Columbus Day weekend, October 10-13.
The new UNA headquarters is a 10-year-old, two-story building comprising 65,750 square feet of office space. The UNA's insurance operations as well as the editorial and administrative offices of its two newspapers, the Ukrainian-language daily Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly, occupy the second floor of the building, while the first floor is rental space. Although the newspapers' typesetting and layout operations have been moved to Parsippany, the Svoboda Press print shop continued to operate at the previous headquarters building at 30 Montgomery St. in Jersey City.
The new headquarters building, formerly known as Executive 10, is located in Morris County at 2200 Route 10 (westbound), just past the Route 10-Route 202 intersection and near routes 287 and 80. A new sign was put up on December 9 identifying the building as the Ukrainian National Association Corporate Headquarters.
More than 160 persons helped the Ukrainian National Association celebrate the blessing of its new headquarters building on Sunday, November 9. The rite was conducted by clergy of the Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches: the Rev. Marian Struc, pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Jersey City, N.J. (home to the UNA's former headquarters); the Rev. Oleh Hucul, pastor of Holy Ascension Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Maplewood, N.J.; and the Rev. Myron Stasiw, a UNA advisor who is pastor of Holy Protectress Ukrainian Catholic Church in Toronto.
Among the guests were representatives of many Ukrainian community organizations, as well as district and branch officers from the tri-state New York, New Jersey and Connecticut region. Also present were many employees of the UNA and its two official publications, Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly, and their families. Almost all the members of the UNA General Assembly - UNA executive officers, auditors, advisors and honorary members - who had just completed their annual deliberations at the Soyuzivka resort the previous day attended the ceremonies.
The General Assembly, the highest decision-making body of the Ukrainian National Association between quadrennial conventions, met on November 6-8 at its annual meeting. During its three days of deliberations, officers, auditors and advisors examined and approved merger agreements with the Ukrainian National Aid Association of America (UNAAA) and the Ukrainian Fraternal Association (UFA), which will be presented for final approval to the UNA convention; discussed and approved several proposed amendments to the UNA By-Laws that will be presented to convention delegates (who must ratify any changes by a two-thirds majority); and adopted a budget for 1998 of $10,774,000 in income and $11,024,000 in expenses.
In regard to the mergers involving two other Ukrainian fraternal organizations, Assembly members reviewed the details of merger agreements with the UNAAA and UFA. The General Assembly voted in both cases to authorize the Executive Committee to execute the agreement of merger.
In the case of the UFA, however, there was the additional provision of a new name for the merged entity, as the Ukrainian Fraternal Association insists that the new organization be called the Ukrainian National Fraternal Association. Members of the General Assembly discussed and debated the issue of the name change and then voted 12 to 9 (with one abstention) to accept the UFA's proposed name change. However, that provision has to be approved by a two-thirds majority at the 1998 convention of the UNA since it involves an amendment to the UNA By-Laws.
Among the proposed changes to the UNA By-Laws were the following:
The Assembly also confirmed the Executive Committee's acceptance of a request made by Treasurer Alexander Blahitka for a leave of absence (with full salary) for medical reasons, effective through June 30, 1998. President Ulana Diachuk then announced that, acting in accordance with the UNA By-Laws, the Executive Committee had appointed an acting treasurer. He is Stefan Kaczaraj, C.P.A., who has been the UNA's chief accountant for the past four years and prior to that had served as an outside auditor for the UNA. Mr. Kaczaraj will serve out the remainder of the treasurer's term. (The officers elected at the 1998 convention assume office on July 1.)
A mission statement of the Ukrainian National Association that underlines the principles enumerated in the UNA's charter and renews the fraternal commitments made therein was adopted by the General Assembly. The mission statement is designed to serve as both a shortened version and an updated restatement of the organizational purposes delineated in the UNA charter. Its text reads as follows: "The Ukrainian National Association exists: to promote the principles of fraternalism; to preserve the Ukrainian, Ukrainian American and Ukrainian Canadian heritage and culture; and to provide quality financial services and products to its members. As a fraternal insurance society, the Ukrainian National Association reinvests its earnings for the benefit of its members and the Ukrainian community."
1997 was also the year this fraternal organization's centennial history, a labor of love by Dr. Myron. B. Kuropas, an honorary member of the UNA General Assembly and a researcher of immigration history, rolled off the presses. "Ukrainian-American Citadel: The First One Hundred Years of the Ukrainian National Association," was released by East European Monographs of Boulder, Colo., in the summer. In its 13 chapters and 658 pages the book chronicles the founding of the UNA in 1894; its transformation from the Ruskyi Narodnyi Soyuz to the Ukrainian National Association; its leading role in establishing a Ukrainian identity in America; its activism in the American political milieu and its current role within the Ukrainian American community.
Speaking of his work since 1990 on this "social history," as he describes it, Dr. Kuropas said: " I learned a lot more than I had ever known about the role of the UNA in the development and growth of the Ukrainian American community. The UNA truly is a citadel and remains as a beacon for all Ukrainians worldwide. ... It is my hope that this book will awaken Ukrainians in North America to the importance of continuing to support this exemplary institution."
According to the author, the guiding principle behind the book is: "In order for us to know where we're going we have to realize where we have been." Thus, it is perhaps fitting that this very important work appeared in 1997, the year before the UNA's next regular convention - which most observers see as pivotal for the future of the organization.
As it was a pre-convention year, there was a flurry of activity in preparation for the May 1998 quadrennial convention to be held in Toronto. At a special meeting attended by representatives of branches of the Toronto District Committee held on April 13, a Convention Committee was organized to take charge of planning all cultural and entertainment programs for the conclave. The committee is headed by the Rev. Stasiw, a UNA advisor from Toronto; Honorary Member of the General Assembly Wasyl Didiuk is the committee's vice-chairman.
This was also the year the UNA entered cyberspace (having been beaten there by its own English-language official publication, The Ukrainian Weekly, which first appeared on the Internet in July of 1995). In March of this year, we first announced that the UNA's homepage was on line and ready to be visited at http://www.tryzub.com/UNA. The site, set up by the General Assembly's Internet Committee, includes a lead article "About the UNA," covering the organization's history, support of Ukrainian causes, patronage of the arts, charitable activity, publications, promotion of sports and programs for youth, care of senior members, Soyuzivka and fraternal benefits. The site is regularly updated with new articles under several sections: From the Home Office, Membership, About Insurance, Youth Benefits, Fraternal Activities and Aid to Ukraine. Also available on the homepage: a list of members of the UNA General Assembly (executive officers, auditors, advisors and honorary members), UNA sales offices, and press bureaus of The Ukrainian Weekly. There is a link from the UNA homepage to the highlights of The Weekly that appear each week in the Current Events section of the Ukraine FAQ Plus site as well as to the Soyuzivka Homepage and the homepage of the UNA's manager of insurance sales and marketing, Joe Binczak.
During the first nine months of this year Executive Committee members were primarily occupied with the sale of the UNA's headquarters building in Jersey City, N.J., and the purchase of new office space. But there were other weighty matters. At their meeting on March 3, the six-member UNA Executive Committee discussed the future of Svoboda, the UNA's official Ukrainian-language publication.
Treasurer Blahitka reported that the UNA made progress in reducing the losses incurred by its fraternal operations. The UNA's subsidy to its official publications decreased by $179,512. Even though UNA publications' income increased by $191,116, the resulting profit on an accrual basis was only $24,325. This compared favorably with the previous year's loss of $106,391, Mr. Blahitka underlined, marking an improvement of approximately $130,000.
Under the rubric of "miscellaneous," Mrs. Diachuk proposed that Svoboda, the UNA's Ukrainian-language newspaper, be published as a daily, but only two times per week at a savings of $216,000 per year. She suggested that three days' issues could be published in one edition and that two issues could be published in another; thus, five issues per week would still appear, but they would be printed and mailed only twice per week. After a lengthy discussion the motion was tabled.
Secretary Lysko reported that the UNA closed 1996 with a total membership of 59,083 members, as compared to 61,126 in 1995. This downward spiral has been seen since 1970, when UNA membership reached its zenith at 89,107 members. Every year since 1970, she explained, the UNA has consistently lost members, or rather failed to replace the deaths, cash surrenders and endowments that occur annually. In terms of percentage, the loss in 1996 was smaller than in previous years, she added.
In May the UNA Executive Committee announced the suspension of dividends for 1997 due to the costs of mergers involving two other Ukrainian fraternal benefits societies, the UNAAA and UFA. At the same time it was announced that senior members age 79 or over would be given a fraternal donation equal to the amount of their annual premiums, thus these members would not pay their next annual premium. The UNA continued its various other fraternal benefits, such as a 10 percent discount at Soyuzivka, a 25 percent discount on subscriptions to Svoboda and a 33.3 percent discount on subscriptions to The Ukrainian Weekly, as well as student scholarships.
At the execs' second quarterly meeting of the year, held on June 2, Mr. Blahitka reported that the UNA's total assets had risen to $67,702,834. Mrs. Diachuk reported that 24 teacher-volunteers will teach in 14 regional centers during the 1997 English Teachers for Ukraine program, and the Summer Institute for Teachers of English in Ukraine will be held in Luhansk with 60 participants enrolled.
The next quarterly meeting of the Executive Committee was the first to be held at the UNA's new headquarters in Parsippany. At the November 5 meeting, held on the eve of the General Assembly's annual session, the Executive Committee confirmed Mr. Kaczaraj as acting treasurer during Mr. Blahitka's absence due to illness. The other significant point of discussion at the Executive Committee's meeting was the issue of the UNA's printing facilities, which remain in the UNA's previous headquarters building in Jersey City. After reviewing basic trade-offs between continuing to maintain in-house printing facilities and subcontracting to an outside printer, the execs decided to subcontract the job of printing the UNA's two newspapers in order to save approximately $51,000 annually on printing costs and an additional $65,488 on rental costs. Whether Svoboda will remain a daily apparently was a question left to be decided at the 1998 UNA convention.
The UNA's Auditing Committee conducted its twice yearly review of the association's operations on May 3-7, and then again on November 3-5, before the General Assembly meeting. While acknowledging that the UNA continues to cover the deficits of its two official publications, the UNA Auditing Committee noted in its May report: "The Svoboda daily and The Ukrainian Weekly serve a vital informational role, maintaining contact among our settlements in various countries and, for the sixth year now, with independent Ukraine as well. ...That is why we must do everything possible to find an appropriate way to maintain our daily with daily postal delivery." The auditors also appealed to the UNA membership and the community at large to support the UNA's newspapers by becoming subscribers.
The 1997-1998 UNA Scholarships were awarded in July by the Scholarship Committee, which allocated $70,300 to 186 undergraduate students studying at colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. Among them were several larger scholarships - in amounts as high as $2,500 - awarded to exceptional students. The annual scholarship issue of The Ukrainian Weekly was published in December.
Among UNA grants during 1997 were the following: $5,000 to the Federation of Ukrainians in Poland for publication of a commemorative volume on Akcja Wisla and $2,000 to the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Krynytsia, Poland - both paid out of the Buczynskyj Fund, an endowment created thanks to the bequest of a deceased member of the UNA. A sum of $19,000 was paid out during 1997 from the Ukrainian National Foundation as the first installment to cover publication in Ukraine of a new children's book, "Ivasyk Telesyk," by Ivan Malkovych. Meanwhile, the UNA's Fund for the Rebirth of Ukraine continued to support the work of the Kyiv Press Bureau, which is manned full-time by a staffer of The Ukrainian Weekly.
The UNA Seniors Association held its 23rd annual conference at Soyuzivka on June 8-13. The 103 seniors in attendance re-elected Dr. Anna Chopek as their president. In addition to their usual bingo night and Ukrainian sing-along, the seniors this year had a square dance night and they visited The Metropolitan Museum's landmark exhibit "The Glory of Byzantium," where they paid particular attention to artifacts dating to the time of Kyivan Rus'. They also raised $1,400 for charitable causes; the amount was split equally between the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund and the "Babusia Fund" of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America.
Early in the year, UNA'ers were saddened to learn about the death on December 28, 1996, of Walter Kwas, the legendary manager of Soyuzivka and a longtime supreme advisor of the Ukrainian National Association, at the age of 80. During his 28 years as manager of the UNA estate in the Catskills, Mr. Kwas transformed Soyuzivka into a little piece of Ukraine, complete with Hutsul-style architectural embellishments. The funeral was held on January 4 with liturgy at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church and burial at the nearby local cemetery where Mr. Kwas was bid a final farewell with the sound of a lone trembita echoing through his beloved mountains.
Several months later came the passing of another UNA luminary, Anne Herman, former supreme vice-presidentess of the UNA (1958-1966) and widow of Gregory Herman, supreme secretary of the UNA during the 1950s (he died in 1957). Mrs. Herman died on March 8 at the age of 90.
In other UNA-related news, this year's UNA Almanac was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Akcja Wisla, the forced deportation by the government of Poland of Ukrainians living in southeastern and eastern Poland to the country's northern and northwestern regions in an attempt to de-Ukrainianize ethnically Ukrainian lands and to ravage the Ukrainian minority.
At the beginning of 1997, the UNA estate, whose Senior Citizens' Home, Halych, has been available to permanent residents, announced that it was now welcoming seniors for short-term stays ranging from a week to several months. In this way, the UNA tried to cater to the needs of its elderly members.
Later in the year, as a prelude to its upcoming summer season, Soyuzivka held its Springfest '97 during the Memorial Day weekend. Among the features: live music in the Trembita Lounge, restaurant dining at the resort's "Winter Inn" (that's what Soyuzivka called its intimate dinner setting around the Main House lobby's fireplace, which was first opened to the public during winter weekends); a clam and shrimp bake, and brunch on Memorial Day.
Then, on June 15, the resort hosted Batko Soyuz's annual celebration of Fathers' Day. The 13th annual event attracted some 400 guests who came for a special program featuring the Arkan Dance Company of Toronto and soprano Alexandra Hrabova of the Ivan Franko National Theater of Opera and Ballet in Lviv. Many of the guests came by the busload as UNA branches and districts organized bus trips for the occasion.
The year-round resort opened its 43rd summer season during the Independence Day weekend, July 4-6, featuring the Voloshky vocal trio from Saskatoon and bandurist Ostap Stakhiv, midnight fireworks and dancing to the music of Fata Morgana, Lviviany, Burlaky and Tempo, plus art exhibits and sports. Of course, there was good food as well, with the first of many Odesa Nights - a seafood buffet - held on July 4.
There was much more of all of the above throughout the summer, as Soyuzivka's stage was graced by performers from near and far: from the United States, Canada and Ukraine. The resort also hosted several camps and workshops: Tabir Ptashat (Plast's camp for preschoolers), Chemny's Fun Center, tennis camp, boys' and girls' camps, and Roma Pryma-Bohachevsky's Ukrainian folk dance workshop, whose students were the headliners for the special program held to mark the sixth anniversary of Ukraine's independence over the weekend of August 23-24. A week prior to that the annual Miss Soyuzivka contest took place. Stefania Chaban, an 18-year-old vocalist from Ukraine and a voice major at the Baltimore School of Arts, was crowned Miss Soyuzivka 1998 during the 42nd annual contest just before midnight on August 16.
The season finale was held, as usual, over the Labor Day weekend. Highlights of the four days of celebration were concerts, fireworks, national competitions in tennis and swimming, and dances to the music of Tempo. The headliners of the entertainment program were the Viter Ukrainian Dancers of Edmonton and Lviv vocalist Irchyk. On stage for the dances were the Luna, Tempo, Fata Morgana and Lviviany bands.
As 1997 drew to a close, the Ukrainian National Association and its members were looking toward its next convention - sure to be a milestone in the history of this 103-year-old institution - which is scheduled to take place on May 15-19 in Toronto. Among the issues: fraternal mergers, by-laws changes, the future of Svoboda, and, of course, the elections of new leaders to take the UNA into the 21st century.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 28, 1997, No. 52, Vol. LXV
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