THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM (05/09/99)

THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM

COMMENTARY: UNA needs a master plan

by Yaroslaw Tysiak

The need for more members is an old story, but how the problem is addressed is critical to the economic survival of the Ukrainian National Association. On March 13 at the annual meeting of the Albany District Committee of the UNA held in Watervliet, N.Y., this old story was once again repeated, but I heard no answers as to how our fraternal organization is prepared to deal with this challenge to its business.

With so much at stake and so little time to find solutions, what most people at the meeting wanted to hear is a long-range vision for the UNA. In the absence of a vision, a master plan, I heard people express a variety of ideas on how the UNA might address its most obvious and urgent needs. While the UNA president effectively communicated a sense of urgency to the UNA's fiscal crisis, I had no sense of "the big picture" and how local branches could help meet some of the challenges posed by the UNA's fiscal crisis.

An essential strategy to staying in business, especially where the customer base is shrinking, is to rethink the core business and its future activities. What we need is a well-thought-out long-range vision and leaders who will spearhead the actions required to restore the UNA to its pre-eminent role in Ukrainian life.

The UNA has many valuable resources to draw upon, including its General Assembly. I believe the UNA leadership could start by drawing upon its advisors and begin to define the UNA's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and problems.

Last year, when I attended my first ever such meeting, the visiting UNA officers left me with the impression that the UNA was under control and positioning itself for the future. There seemed to be a sense of momentum to address long-standing fiscal problems.

At last year's meeting, I recall, the discussions centered on efforts to merge with another fraternal insurance company, the sale of the headquarters building in Jersey City, N.J., and a re-evaluation of the operations of the Soyuzivka resort.

My overall impression was that the UNA was facing its business world challenges and had a vision of what it needed to do to restore its economic health.

I walked away with very much a different impression this year.

While we were pleased that the UNA president attended the 1999 annual district committee meeting, I was somewhat surprised to not hear a long-range vision and a master plan as to how the UNA Executive Committee plans to address its long-standing financial and operational difficulties.

Instead, I heard a litany of challenges to the UNA's continued operations. I heard members brainstorm ideas to address UNA's stated challenges but, unfortunately, the UNA president either dismissed or shifted responsibility for most of the ideas offered.

Ideas that competed for attention included the integration of new immigrants, the so-called "Fourth Wave" from Ukraine, conducting midweek overnight senior bus trips and "adopting" buildings at Soyuzivka. The meeting ended with no specific plan of action. I think far more could have been achieved if the members could have heard from the UNA president how they could get involved in various specific projects.

I would suggest that our leadership develop a long-range vision for the Ukrainian National Association. Specifically, the UNA needs to send its advisors out into the community to listen to local concerns, to study actual conditions and to brainstorm new ideas to be presented in a final report.

Such a report should serve as the foundation for a long-range vision and aid in the development of a master plan so that UNA district officers could indicate how each branch and individual members might help meet some of the challenges mentioned by the Executive Committee.

When I attend the year 2000 meeting of our annual district committee, I hope to hear a clear and cohesive plan as to how the UNA plans to address its most critical challenges. The UNA leadership has an obligation to tell us what the UNA wants to do and how the district committees can help them achieve their future business and operational goals.

After all, we share a common goal: we want the Ukrainian National Association to resurface as a successful and meaningful organization in the Ukrainian community.

Yaroslaw Tysiak is a member of UNA Branch 13 in Watervliet, N.Y.

LETTER: New and improved UNA scholarship program

Dear Editor:

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the Ukrainian National Association for the progress made in remediating your application process for UNA scholarships.

Two years ago my son, as well as 47 other applicants, did not qualify to receive scholarships for college studies.

After reviewing the reasons why our application did not meet 1997 requirements, I decided to draft a lengthy review of the process and also made a number of suggestions to modify the requirements. I also solicited the opinions of many of my colleagues who had experienced similar frustrations.

To my pleasant surprise, the UNA did review my recommendations and this current "new" application is indeed customer-friendly. No longer is one required to disclose one's financial history, i.e. tax returns, and all those who apply will be recognized. This is a major improvement to the process.

The second purpose of this letter is to advise all past and future UNA members who have experienced the old application process to be aware that major changes have taken place for their benefit.

Thank you for listening and responding to the "silent majority." Each parent should seriously consider taking a more active roll in the UNA to ensure its survival for many future generations.

Stefan Tatarenko
Clifton, N.J.

Stefan Tatarenko is a member of UNA Branch 171 in Jersey City, N.J.

Young UNA'ers

Brianna Zirka Grenda, daughter of Alexander and Rachel Grenda, is a new member of UNA Branch 461 in Welland, Ontario. She was enrolled by her grandmother Irene Grenda.
Paul Michael Krucylak is a new member of UNA Branch 184. He was enrolled by his parents, Peter and Catherine Krucylak of Manchester, Mo., Paul is the grandson of Mykola and Halia Panchenko, and Maria Krucylak.

| Home Page |