EDITORIAL: The UNA on the eve of the 21st century (12/12/99)

EDITORIAL

The UNA on the eve of the 21st century

As the Ukrainian National Association, the largest Ukrainian fraternal organization, prepares to enter into the 21st century, it held its last General Assembly meeting of the 20th century. At the opening of the session, UNA President Ulana Diachuk provided a historical perspective by noting that this fraternal benefit society has already existed in two centuries and is now on the threshold of a third.

"Entering the new century and the new millennium with confidence, we should seek new methods and new approaches so that our principal goals continue to be supported by the Ukrainian community and so that the UNA continues to fulfill the purposes delineated in its founding charter," President Diachuk emphasized.

And, it was with the future ever-present in their minds that members of the General Assembly - executive officers, auditors and advisors, as well as honorary members - participated in the three-day meeting. After hearing reports about the current status of the UNA and projections and predictions on where it is headed, they engaged in serious discussions and questioning - sometimes heated at that - in order to better chart the UNA's course into the next century. There were disagreements, there was openness and forthrightness that sometimes may have been seen in a negative light. But above it all there was a predominant genuine concern and true dedication to the Ukrainian National Association, a pioneering organization whose achievements are well-known to Ukrainians here and abroad.

Officers' reports indicated that the UNA had downsized - a phenomenon quite widespread in today's business climate - and that the downsizing had eliminated personnel, re-evaluated UNA programs, cut back on fraternal activities and generally cut expenses wherever possible. They argued that the UNA, as a leaner but more efficient fraternal benefit insurance company, will strive to stay true to its founding mission as capsulized in 1997 in the organization's mission statement: "The Ukrainian National Association exists 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. As a fraternal insurance society, the Ukrainian National Association reinvests its earnings for the benefit of its members and the Ukrainian community."

Proof of that dedication can be seen in the General Assembly's decisions to continue subsidizing the UNA's two official publications, Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly; to resume funding the Kyiv Press Bureau from the UNA budget; to continue awarding scholarships to UNA members; to award stipends to young UNA members who graduate from schools of Ukrainian studies; to provide financial assistance for pedagogical courses to teachers of schools of Ukrainian studies who are members of the UNA; and to continue sponsoring sports competitions at Soyuzivka.

The hope is that a more efficient organization will also be a more attractive one and that with this efficiency will come better service to members that, in turn, will enable the UNA to continue its work and to flourish as new members replenish and enrich its ranks. And that, dear readers, is the only way the UNA as we know it - a leader in our Ukrainian community life that is involved in all facets of our activity in the United States and Canada - will be able to carry on the all-important mission delineated by its founding fathers and remain a vital component of our community.

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