1998: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

For the UNA, a convention year

Certainly the top story for the UNA during 1998 was its 34th Convention. For the first time in its 104-year history, the Ukrainian National Association held its convention in Canada. The gathering in Toronto on May 15-19 - which brought together 227 delegates representing UNA branches from across the U.S. and Canada - promised to be one of the most significant in the history of this exemplary fraternal organization.

The local Convention Committee, chaired by the Rev. Myron Stasiw, an advisor of the UNA, began meeting back in December of 1997 to make plans for the quadrennial convention. But the bulk of the work, to be sure, was at the Home Office in Parsippany, N.J. In February the procedure of electing delegates was explained in the UNA's two official publications. In April, The Weekly and Svoboda published the convention program, as stipulated in the UNA By-Laws, announced the members of three convention committees that are active before the opening gavel (credentials, financial and by-laws), and listed the names of all delegates and alternates elected by their branches as representatives to the convention.

The Auditing Committee - composed of Stefan Hawrysz, William Pastuszek, Stefania Hewryk, Anatole Doroshenko and Iwan Wynnyk - concluded its weeklong pre-convention review of the fraternal organization's finances and activity on March 27 at the UNA Corporate Headquarters. They were to report their findings to the 34th convention.

The Auditing Committee's report was published in The Weekly on May 31; copies were not made available to delegates at the convention. In addition to the usual, almost perfunctory, review of the UNA's various department and subsidiaries, the auditors said they were "troubled by the fact that the Executive Committee did not consider the ramifications of the five-year contract signed in November 1996 with Director of Insurance Operations Robert Cook, whose annual salary is more than $100,000. The contract does not specify the requirements of his job." As well, they reported that the deficit of the UNA's Canadian office were as follows: 1994 - $ 314,984; 1994 - $399,022, 1996 - $536,010; 1997 - $412,089. As regards the UNA's official publications and Soyuzivka, the auditors reported that the deficits for 1997 were, respectively, $488,162 and $546,585.

Also in the run-up to the convention, in March the UNA's publication printed the full texts of merger agreements with the Ukrainian National Aid Association of America and the Ukrainian Fraternal Association. In the case of the UNA-UNAAA merger, the documents were signed by Ulana Diachuk, president, and Martha Lysko, secretary, for the UNA; and Wolodymyr Okipiuk, acting president, and Odarka Roberts, secretary, for the UNAAA. As far as the UNA-UFA proposed merger was concerned, the UNA president and secretary were the signatories, while UFA officers did not sign the agreement.

The 34th Regular Convention of the UNA was a peculiar conclave, foreshadowed in an op-ed piece by Dr. Bohdan Vitvitsky in the March 22 issue of this newspaper. Dr. Vitvitsky noted that it was a mere two months before the UNA was to convene in Toronto - where delegates would be electing "the most important officers of one of the most important institutions in our community" - and "we do not even know who is running."

"Nor do we know the qualifications - and in particular, the managerial qualifications - of those who are running. We know nothing about their views and analyses of the current state of the UNA, and, most importantly, we know nothing about their platforms or their visions for the future," he wrote.

Indeed, once the convention began, the answer was no clearer. As the primary election - a write-in procedure - was about to take place, the delegates demanded to know who was running for what post. As candidates made their announcements, delegates learned that the current president, Mrs. Diachuk, would not run for a third term, and that at least one serious candidate who was expected to be announced, Auditor Doroshenko, also was not running. That left one candidate for president, and a dark horse at that, Advisor Roma Hadzewycz, who opted to run only after Mr. Doroshenko declined at the last minute, who privately cited back-room maneuverings not to his liking.

However, as the delegates were filing out of the hall to vote, supporters of Mrs. Diachuk spread the word that delegates should write in her name for president after all. Mrs. Diachuk later said she took the write-in tally of 104 votes in the primaries as a vote of confidence in her presidency and reconsidered her decision not to run.

The Ukrainian National Association emerged from its 34th Convention, the last of this century, with a mandate to merge with two other Ukrainian fraternal organizations, but with its flagship daily, Svoboda, reduced to a weekly publication, and its Soyuzivka resort's season shortened to only the summer months.

The convention voted overwhelmingly to accept the terms of the contracts under which mergers with the UFA and the UNAAA would take place (196-22 in the case of the UFA and 192-25 for the UNAAA), but rejected the proposal that the UNA change its name to the Ukrainian National Fraternal Association in order to accommodate UFA demands. In doing so, the convention dismissed suggestions by Executive Committee members who had negotiated the contracts that a refusal of the name change would endanger the merger. The name change was accepted by 137 delegates (61.2 percent), and rejected by 87 (38.8 percent), thus falling short of the two-thirds majority required to effect a change to the UNA By-Laws.

The convention also voted in several by-laws changes, including a provisions stipulating that the UNA secretary will be referred to as national secretary; an amendment that permits questions requiring approval by a convention to be voted on by mail between regular conventions (such votes are to be conducted by a third party to ensure privacy of balloting); and a requirement that all members of the General Assembly and all branch secretaries must subscribe to one of the UNA's official publications, Svoboda or The Ukrainian Weekly.

The most far-reaching proposal passed was the following: "That the General Assembly of the UNA elected at this convention is hereby directed to prepare a referendum to amend the Charter and By-Laws of the UNA to provide for a governance structure consisting of an 11-member Board of Directors to be elected by the 35th Convention to conduct the business of the UNA between conventions. The Board of Directors shall meet no less than quarterly, and shall have the authority to hire the Executive Committee in such manner as it shall determine. This referendum shall be completed no later than December 31, 1999."

On May 18, the Financial Committee issued its report. The committee was composed of John Gawaluch, chairman, Nicholas Fil, Larissa Hwozdulych, Gloria Paschen and Yaroslav Zaviysky. Aided by the acting treasurer, Stefan Kaczaraj, the committee made several suggestions to cut the budget. The budget for 1998 submitted in November 1997 (which predicted an income of $10,774,000 and $11,024,000 in expenses, resulting in a deficit of $250,000) was submitted for substantial modification, which would take into account the restructuring and downsizing of the UNA's operations as agreed at the convention. It was indicated that $300,000 could be saved by shortening the Soyuzivka season to June 1 through September 15, and that the deficit created by the daily Svoboda could be reduced substantially, if not eliminated totally, if the newspaper were transformed into a weekly. The Financial Committee's report, which also proposed extending the halt on payment of dividends, engendered the most emotional debate of the convention.

On the morning of May 18, delegates voted to reject the Finance Committee's recommendation to make Svoboda a weekly, by a margin of 121-62. However, later in the day, the Financial Committee's request for a reconsideration of the vote was permitted. Another vote was taken and the Elections Committee recorded 138 votes for, 47 against, and 10 abstentions to making Svoboda a weekly. The convention also unanimously voted to adjust Svoboda's subscription rate to $50 annually for non-members and $40 for members, with a provision to credit current subscribers to the daily for the difference in rates. The Ukrainian Weekly's rate also was adjusted to $50/$40. The changes went into effect on July 1.

The Soyuzivka debate also was extensive. The vote was taken, but the numbers were not recorded by the Elections Committee, as the chair deemed that a sufficient majority had indicated they were in favor of the motion to cut the UNA estate's season to three and a half months. The change was to go into effect for the 1999 season.

[It should be noted that later in the year, however, the UNA Executive Committee, having taken a serious look at the figures, decided to keep Soyuzivka open for the bulk of the year, closing it down only in the period between February 1 and April 15.]

On May 19, the final day of the conclave, delegates re-elected Mrs. Diachuk to a third term as president of the fraternal organization, turning aside a strong challenge from Advisor Hadzewycz. The vote was 122 for Mrs. Diachuk and 99 for Ms. Hadzewycz.

In her acceptance speech, Mrs. Diachuk said, "at the outset of the convention I was 100 percent certain I would not be a candidate [for re-election] ... but only at the last minute when I saw your desires, your support and your confidence in me, I decided to continue to lead this organization." The UNA president expressed hope that all in attendance would look back in four years' time and be proud of what was accomplished at the convention and confident in the difficult decisions made.

Also returning to office were Anya Dydyk-Petrenko, as second vice-president, and Mrs. Lysko as national secretary, both elected by acclamation. Treasurer Kaczaraj, who assumed the office as acting treasurer when Alexander Blahitka went on medical leave in November 1997, was confirmed by acclamation as treasurer.

Two-term incumbent Nestor Olesnycky declined to stand for another term as vice-president, making way for a newcomer. Chicago's Stefko Kuropas was elected first vice-president to the Executive Committee. At age 33 he is one of the youngest candidates to ever be elected to this top post and a staunch advocate of refocusing on the UNA's 104-year fraternal traditions, as well as a vocal critic of his predecessor.

The Rev. Myron Stasiw, chairman of the convention's organizing committee, was acclaimed as director for Canada.

Mr. Pastuszek, Mr. Hawrysz, Alexander Serafyn, Mr. Zaviysky and Michael Groch (representing Canada) were elected to the Auditing Committee. However, either Mr. Groch or Mr. Zaviysky were to step aside when or if the proposed merger with the UFA went through, as the contract of merger stipulated that the UFA would require one auditor and three advisor positions on the General Assembly.

Alexander Chudolij and Taras Szmagala Jr., were the top vote-getters in the election for the General Assembly's advisors and both were re-elected. Canada's Tekla Moroz was elected to her seventh consecutive term. Also re-elected as advisors were Nick Diakiwsky, Walter Korchynsky and Stephanie Hawryluk. Newcomers were Halyna Kolessa, Dr. Wasyl Szeremeta and Andre Worobec. Albert Kachkowski of Canada was assured of a place as the UNA By-Laws require two Canadian advisors, while the newly elected Eugene Oscislawski, Barbara Bachynsky and Andrij Skyba would be excused if the merger with the UFA was completed.

One month after the UNA convention, the Ukrainian Fraternal Association concluded its 24th Convention on June 18, voting against merger with the Ukrainian National Association and re-electing Ivan Oleksyn as president. According to the June 25 issue of Narodna Volya, the weekly newspaper published by the UFA, the proposed merger between the two Ukrainian fraternal organizations was one of the most important matters before the four-day convention, which was held at the fraternal's Verkhovyna Resort Center in Glen Spey, N.Y.

Narodna Volya reported: "Because the 34th Convention of the UNA, which took place earlier in Toronto, rejected the proposed and agreed-upon addition of the word 'fraternal' to the name Ukrainian National Association, which was the most important prerequisite for the merger of the two fraternals, the 24th Convention of the Ukrainian Fraternal Association did not approve the merger with the UNA by a vote of 22 for and 53 against; however, the convention did not preclude the possibility that our fraternal organizations could merge in the future."

The UNA Executive Committee announced in the June 5 issue of The Weekly that payment of dividends for 1997 was suspended, while underlining that all members of UNA would continue to receive the guaranteed interest on the accumulated cash value of their certificate, and the cash value will continue to grow as provided by the certificate. Seniors, however, got a special break from the UNA as its was also announced that more than 2,000 members who are age 79 or older but continue to pay premiums for their life insurance would receive a fraternal donation equal to the amount of their annual premium. The due date of their payments was to be posted to a year after their current date.

At the end of June, 22,000 letters were sent from the Home Office to all members who have life insurance policies with the UNA. The letter briefly informed the members about convention resolutions regarding the increase in fraternal dues and the decrease in subscription prices for the UNA's two newspapers. In the same mailing the UNA introduced a new membership package, called the UNA Heritage Program, that combines life insurance (with Blue and Gold options that offer $3,000 or $10,000, respectively, of life insurance coverage) with accidental death and membership coverage and a discount card that entitles holders to special prices on services such as car rentals, hotel accommodations, dental and vision care, etc.

The first post-convention meeting of the newly elected Executive Committee of the UNA was held on Saturday, August 8. President Diachuk greeted and congratulated the newly elected executive committee, including Mr. Kuropas, first vice-spresident; the Rev. Stasiw, director for Canada; Mrs. Lysko, national secretary; Mr. Kaczaraj, treasurer; and the chairman of the Auditing Committee, Mr. Pastuszek. Ms. Dydyk-Petrenko, second vice-president, was unable to attend.

Even before the UNA convention, there were significant changes at the Svoboda Press. The Svoboda print shop in Jersey City, N.J., was permanently closed down on Thursday, April 16. The decision was announced on Friday, April 10, just as The Weekly's April 12 issue was going to press.

This paper printed a brief notice in the April 17 issue: "This issue of The Ukrainian Weekly is the first to roll off the presses of a print shop that has been contracted by the Ukrainian National Association's Executive Committee to print the fraternal organization's two official publications, Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly. Previously, both newspapers were printed by the UNA-owned Svoboda Press, whose print shop was located at the fraternal's former headquarters building in Jersey City, N.J. The changeover to an outside contractor was announced by UNA President Ulana Diachuk on Friday, April 10. As of Wednesday, April 15, Svoboda and The Weekly are being printed and mailed by Redmond Press, located in Denville, N.J. The Svoboda Press print shop has been closed down."

Colleagues bid farewell to Svoboda Editor-in-Chief Zenon Snylyk on June 18, who retired effective June 19 after more than 36 years of service to publications of the Ukrainian National Association -18 years at each of its two newspapers - and work on the two-volume Ukraine: A Concise Encyclopedia. Present at the informal gathering were Mr. Snylyk's fellow editors at the Ukrainian-language daily newspaper, members of The Ukrainian Weekly editorial and production staffs, the Svoboda print shop and administration.

Mr. Snylyk also bid farewell to Svoboda readers and his co-workers in the Saturday, June 20, issue of Svoboda: "This is the last time that my name appears as editor-in-chief of Svoboda in the masthead atop this page. ... My retirement is the result of the decision of the 34th Convention of the UNA to change Svoboda to a weekly. Therefore, I do not have the unpleasant duty of writing an epitaph on the gravestone of the Svoboda daily. However, I am obligated to express my thanks to all of you for your support and loyalty during my 36 years and four months at the Svoboda Publishing House."

"I extend my sincere thanks for your loyalty, dedication and cooperation, for your suggestions, advice, support and readiness to work together in the defense and popularization of Ukrainianism," he concluded.

The first issue of the Svoboda Ukrainian-language weekly rolled off the presses on July 1 (bearing the date of July 3) with a new format and layout, as well as new features. The tabloid bears a new flag (the nameplate atop the front page), that incorporates the typeface used by Svoboda in 1914-1920. The paper's editorial referred to the proud 105-year-old legacy of Svoboda, which weathered many difficult times and persevered, continuing to publish out of love for Ukraine and the Ukrainian heritage. Addressing readers, it stated: "Placing into your hands the first issue of the Ukrainian-language weekly Svoboda, we believe that you will accept it as a worthy successor to the daily, that you will support it and will encourage others to do likewise, and that you will ensure its future with your subscriptions."

The new Svoboda weekly's editorial board comprised Serhiy Myroniuk, acting editor, and staffers (in alphabetical order) Petro Chasto, Chrystyna Ferencevych, Halyna Kolessa, Olha Kuzmowycz, Volodymyr Romaniuk and Raisa Rudenko. Mr. Myroniuk was chosen by his colleagues as their coordinator after Mr. Snylyk had announced he was retiring. Mr. Myroniuk, 28, had been a member of the Svoboda editorial staff since 1995. He is a senior majoring in journalism at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

Then, in September, a new editor took charge of Svoboda after Mr. Myroniuk announced that he would no longer be able to continue as acting editor due to his university studies. Soon thereafter, just before Thanksgiving, he left the Svoboda staff. The new Svoboda chief is Raissa Galechko, editor of the humor magazine Vsesmikh, based in Toronto. President Diachuk reported to the UNA General Assembly in November that Mrs. Galechko would soon be signed to a two-year contract.

The General Assembly met at an extraordinary session at Soyuzivka on November 7-8. As this was a special meeting of the 25-member Assembly elected in May, the agenda included only three items: review of UNA operations for 1998, approval of the 1999 budget, and review of organizing results for 1998 and plans for the coming year. (During convention years, regular annual meetings of the General Assembly are not held; the next annual meeting will take place in November 1999.)

Leading off the discussion about UNA operations, Mrs. Diachuk focused on the UNA's publications, noting that expenses for Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly had been reduced by $141,780 during the first nine months of the year, while income also was down by $162,877, mostly due to a decline in subscription income from Svoboda, which was a daily through the end of June and with its transformation to a weekly lowered its subscription prices. Subscription income increased for The Weekly, however. As regards the number of subscribers to the UNA's weeklies, Mrs. Diachuk reported that both had now gained subscribers in the period of July through September, after losing readers during the first half of the year.

Mr. Kaczaraj provided a quick overview of the UNA's budget for 1999, which foresees income of $6,187,433, disbursements of $6,123,429 and a net profit of $64,004. Certain expenses were not included in the budget provided, he explained. The treasurer forecast a loss on the UNA resort's operations of $311,747 and emphasized that "Soyuzivka will have to save some more money." Regarding the UNA's publications, he stated that the convention had decided the UNA subsidy to its publications should be $100,000, and added, "We have to stick to that."

As presented, the budget had allocated $25,000 for the UNA Scholarship Program in 1999. However, after General Assembly members voiced concern about such a low figure, the sum was upped to $35,000. Another point of concern was the amount budgeted for salaries of employees (not including executive or publications personnel), which was listed at $512,000, down from the previous year's level of $1 million. Other issues discussed included losses on the UNA's Toronto sales office and the UNA's investments.

UNA news in 1998 also included the following.

• The theme of the 1998 Ukrainian National Association Almanac was the 200th anniversary of the publication of Ivan Kotliarevskyi's "Eneida," an event that heralded the use and acceptance of Ukrainian as a literary language. The 228-page almanac contained essays, poems, photographs, calendars and advertisements organized in six sections with several dozen different entries, including articles on the Fourth Universal, the battle of Kruty, Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, the diaspora and the national awakening in Ukraine.
  
  
• The Gregory Hrushka Award, the UNA's highest honor, was presented to several UNA'ers during 1998. Yaroslawa Zorych was presented the award at the UNA Convention in recognition of her role as chief agent in Canada and longtime secretary of Branch 432. The other Hrushka laureates honored at the convention (all in absentia) were Andrew Jula, former UNA advisor and branch secretary of Pennsylvania's largest branch, Branch 161; Helen Olek-Scott, former UNA advisor and former secretary of Branch 22 in Chicago; Akron, Ohio-based Genevieve Zerebniak, former UNA vice-presidentess and former secretary of Branches 180 and 295; Roman Prypchan, former Branch 399 secretary in Chicago; Atanas Slusarchuk, former Branch 174 secretary in Detroit; and Taras Slevinsky, former secretary of Branch 59 and district chairman for Connecticut.
  
  
• The 24th Conference of UNA Seniors was held at Soyuzivka on June 14-19 and the current slate of officers, headed by Dr. Anna Chopek, was unanimously re-elected. The highlight of the week was a trip to the UNA Home Office in Parsippany, N.J. The seniors were cordially welcomed by UNA execs and had an opportunity to meet with The Ukrainian Weekly and Svoboda staff, as well as employees of the UNA. During their conference the seniors raised $1,000, which was earmarked for Soyuzivka projects and sent to the Ukrainian National Foundation. Next year the UNA Seniors Association will celebrate its 25th anniversary.
  
  
• On June 21 the UNA celebrated its 14th annual Fathers' Day at Soyuzivka. Some 500 guests visited Soyuzivka during the weekend and about 400 filled the Veselka auditorium. The concert featured two acts from Montreal, the Troyanda Ukrainian dance ensemble and flamenco guitar soloist Andrey Kutash, as well as Liuba Shchibchik, lyric soprano from Kyiv, accompanied by pianist Oksana Revliuk Protenic.
  
  
• The Ukrainian National Association's Scholarship Committee awarded the 1998-1999 UNA Scholarships totaling $52,550 to 195 undergraduate students. Meeting on June 29, the committee reviewed 237 applications. The grants to 195 students - among them six special memorial scholarships and five scholarships funded by the Ukrainian National Home Corp. of Blackstone, Mass. - were allocated as follows: one at $2,000, five at $750, nine at $500, 13 at $400, 102 at $300 and 65 at $100. A special issue of The Ukrainian Weekly devoted to the 1998-1999 UNA scholars was published in December.
  
  
• Soyuzivka, the UNA's upstate New York resort kicked off its 44th summer season during the Independence Day weekend, July 3-5. The season included the usual complement of camps ranging from pre-schoolers' day camps ("Tabir Ptashat" run by the Plast Ukrainian youth organization and Chemney's Fun Center) to tennis camp, boys' and girls' camps, and a Ukrainian dance workshop. As well there were sports competitions in tennis and swimming - including the national championships held during the Labor Day weekend.
  
  
• Miss Soyuzivka 1999 was selected on August 15. She is 23-year-old Renata Kosc of Cleveland, an active member of Plast and the Orlykivtsi Plast group. She directed her own radio program geared towards promoting Ukrainian culture to non-Ukrainians. Miss Kosc is a Rhodes Scholar finalist, took part in the International Humanitarian Law Competition and is an honors graduate of Case Western Reserve University in economics and political science. If the Kosc name sounds familiar, it's because her sister Tanya was Miss Soyuzivka 1997. Runners up were Daria Loun and Marianna German, who tied for second place, and Martha Tatarevich who took third place.
  
  
• The Ukrainian National Association's English Teachers for Ukraine Program and Summer Institute on Current Methods and Practices in TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) continued in 1998, marking their seventh and sixth anniversaries, respectively.
  
  
• The UNA once again published Christmas cards as part of its fund-raising campaign for the Ukrainian National Foundation, a tax-exempt non-profit corporation created by the UNA to support educational, charitable, religious and scholarly projects. This year's traditional Christmas theme was chosen from among originals submitted to the Home Office in response to an ad in Svoboda. Original works selected for this year's cards are by 10 contemporary artists from Ukraine, Canada and the U.S.: Marta Anna, Petro Holovatyi, Danylo Koshtura, Zenowia Kulynych, Vitaliy Lytvyn, Luba Maksymchuk, Natalka, Myron Ruzhyla, Yurij Trytjak and Irene Twerdochlib.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 27, 1998, No. 52, Vol. LXVI

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