EDITORIAL: The UNA's convention (05/03/98)

EDITORIAL

The UNA's convention

As this issue of The Weekly goes to press, it is only two weeks before the opening day of the 34th Regular Convention of the Ukrainian National Association - a gathering that promises to be one of the most significant in the history of this 104-year-old fraternal organization.

Among the matters awaiting action by convention delegates representing branches throughout the United States and Canada are mergers of two similar Ukrainian fraternal associations with the UNA, amendments to the by-laws and the election of a new General Assembly - comprising executive officers, auditors and advisors.

Each of these is vital to the survival of our Soyuz, which is now facing trying times. The mergers have the potential (we say "potential," as the relevant facts and figures will be presented at the convention) of strengthening this community institution and unifying our community. Amendments to the by-laws (these proposals, too, will be made known at the convention) can make the UNA structure more efficient and its officers more accountable. The election of new leaders will give them the opportunity and the power to lead, to truly lead, the UNA into the next century.

In between all the reports by officers, decisions about mergers and by-laws, and campaigning by office-seekers, there will be a very basic undercurrent: the question of what the UNA is to be. Yes, it's true, the UNA's purposes are described in its charter. And, yes, its principles have been reiterated in the UNA Mission Statement adopted in 1997. But let's not kid ourselves, nothing is a given ... The key questions that will be posed at the 34th UNA Convention are: Will the UNA stay true to its founding principles? Will fraternalism continue to be the foundation of the UNA? Or will this be abandoned in favor of some corporate ideal?

No doubt some of these questions will be addressed by candidates for UNA office. And the delegates, before they cast their ballots, should feel duty-bound, as elected representatives of the grass-roots membership, to find out what the candidates - incumbents and newcomers alike - stand for, to learn about the candidates' vision for the UNA's future. To be sure, that job is made even more difficult by the fact that few candidates have publicly announced their intentions, with many of them choosing to wait, for various reasons, for the convention to arrive before testing the waters. Delegates must read and listen to the outgoing officers' reports, ask questions and insist on getting the answers they need to vote wisely. And, if they do their homework, perhaps the delegates will elect the leaders this great organization deserves.

The decisions made by convention delegates also have ramifications that transcend the membership rolls of the UNA. After all, the fates of the UNA and our community here in the United States, and to a lesser degree in Canada, have always been intertwined, as anyone familiar with the history of our diaspora community can attest. Ergo, the quadrennial convention's unparalleled importance.

The previous UNA convention held out the promise of taking the UNA into its second century of existence. This convention, if successful, will take the UNA into the next millennium.