EDITORIAL: Convention countdown (01/11/98)

EDITORIAL

Convention countdown

The front page of this week's issue carries the official announcement of the 34th Regular Convention of the Ukrainian National Association, which is scheduled to begin on May 15 in Toronto. The announcement is published in accordance with the UNA By-Laws, which state that due notice of the convention must be given at least four months before its starting date. The announcement also notes that branches have 60 days from the date of the announcement (in this case, January 6, for that is when the announcement appeared in the Ukrainian-language daily newspaper Svoboda) to elect their delegates, and their alternates, to that quadrennial conclave.

And therein lies the purpose of this editorial - basically a "get the vote out" piece.

First of all, we urge all UNA members in good standing to attend the meetings of their branches at which delegates are to be elected. You see, the UNA functions as a true democracy: members elect delegates from their branches who then attend the convention to represent their interests before the highest decision-making body of the Ukrainian National Association. At the convention delegates will elect a new UNA General Assembly, that is, executive officers, advisors and auditors, as well as honorary members; approve changes to the UNA By-Laws; act on reports of General Assembly members; and adopt resolutions and recommendations for the well-being of this oldest and largest Ukrainian fraternal organization.

The 1998 convention, in particular, is sure to be a turning point in the history of the UNA - indeed of the entire Ukrainian community. Among the matters to be acted upon by the delegates will be two mergers with similar Ukrainian fraternal societies: the Ukrainian Fraternal Association and the Ukrainian National Aid Association of America. Related to the first merger also is the issue of a new name for the merged entity, as the UFA insists that it be called the Ukrainian National Fraternal Association.

Other topics of historic importance include a decision on the fate of the Ukrainian-language newspaper Svoboda and a determination on whether that paper remains a daily - the only Ukrainian-language daily newspaper outside of Ukraine. (Readers may recall that the very same question faced delegates to the previous UNA convention in 1994; they decided, after a lengthy and heated discussion, that the Svoboda daily is one of the major fraternal benefits provided by the UNA and that Svoboda's role in maintaining our community life is paramount.)

There is also the matter of a proposed change in the By-Laws that would alter the framework of the UNA to a corporate structure beginning in the year 2002, whereby the convention would elect an 11-member board of directors, which would then hire executives to run the day-to-day affairs of the association. The board would meet quarterly and would a elect a chairman of the board from among the directors.

All of the aforementioned issues and others that will come up at the 34th Convention are sure to be related to one and the same question: how can the UNA best serve its membership and the Ukrainian community now and in the future? And that, dear UNA'ers, is where we all come in. It is important that we attend our branches' pre-convention meetings, and that we familiarize ourselves with the issues at hand and the principles at stake. Above all, it is imperative that we care about our Ukrainian National Association and its raison d'être (restated in its recently adopted Mission Statement): "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." The UNA, as we have said for many years now, is more - much more - than an insurance company.

So, as the 1998 convention approaches, we advise all UNA members - and especially the delegates they elect - that they are the ones who will chart the course for the UNA into the 21st century.