UNA Executive Committee holds pre-convention quarterly meeting (04/19/98)

UNA Executive Committee holds pre-convention quarterly meeting

by Martha Lysko

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - The last quarterly meeting of the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Association before the fraternal organization's 34th Convention was held on Saturday, March 21, at the Home Office. The most important items on the agenda dealt with the upcoming convention.

The meeting was convened and chaired by Ulana Diachuk, president. In attendance were: Nestor Olesnycky, vice-president; Petro Savaryn, director for Canada; Anya Dydyk-Petrenko, vice-presidentess; Martha Lysko, secretary; Stefan Kaczaraj, acting treasurer; and Auditing Committee member William Pastuszek.

At a special meeting the Executive Committee approved the credentials of the delegates to the convention and the convention agenda. In accordance with the UNA By-Laws, the entire list of delegates and alternates, and the convention agenda were published in the UNA's two official publications 30 days prior to the convention (in Svoboda on April 14 and in The Ukrainian Weekly on April 12).

At the meeting of the Executive Committee, three important committees were appointed. The Credentials Committee consisting of five members, will review all credentials of the delegates prior to the convention and will be present at the registration of the delegates. The Executive Committee also nominated a five-member By-Laws Committee and a five-member Financial Committee that will function during the Convention in their respective capacities.

At their regular quarterly meeting the executives also discussed the impending mergers with Ukrainian National Aid Association of America and the Ukrainian Fraternal Association. A proposed contract agreement with both fraternals appeared in a shortened version in the two official publications of the UNA. The convention will vote on both mergers. Executive Commitee members agreed that the UNA is looking forward to the merger with its brother fraternals as together they can create a strong fraternal organization to serve all Ukrainians.

Another important topic of discussion was the year-end financial statements. Acting Treasurer Kaczaraj offered a line-by-line review of operations, suggesting a need for increasing income and limiting spending. In times of lower interest rates and lower returns on investments, he said the UNA must find ways to increase revenue.

All other members of the Executive Committee presented their final reports before the convention.

The meeting was a lengthy one, since many topics came up for discussion. There was an open discussion of UNA sales offices: profitability, losses and membership gains to the organization resulting from their operation. UNA publications were carefully reviewed, and the losses in subscribers and revenue discussed. Every facet of UNA operations was analyzed and its impact on the growth or drain of the organization discussed.