"Focus Teamwork" is theme at annual session of Ukrainian National Association General Assembly (12/07/03)

"Focus Teamwork" is theme at annual session of Ukrainian National Association General Assembly

by the UNA Executive Committee

KERHONKSON, N.Y. - The Ukrainian National Association's General Assembly met on November 21-23 at the UNA resort, Soyuzivka, for its annual meeting. The weekend sessions, held under the banner of "Focus Teamwork: Planning for the Future," concentrated on setting a strategy for the future growth and development of the UNA organization.

The meeting served as a historic milestone with the General Assembly voting to restore its decades-long membership in the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA).

Back in 1980 a serious schism developed at the UCCA's 13th Congress which led two fraternal associations - the UNA and Ukrainian Fraternal Association (UFA) - and 25 other national organizations to walk out of the convention. This left diaspora Ukrainian Americans without one central representative umbrella organization.

As regards financial matters, the UNA reported progress on two fronts:

the UNA's surplus increased by $1,289,000 for the nine months ending September 30, 2003, a 22 percent increase over the balance of $5,835,000 as of December 31, 2002, for a total surplus of $7,124,000 as of September 30, 2003;
Soyuzivka's operating deficit of $721,000 for the year ending December 31, 2002, has improved due to the combined efforts of restructuring, successful implemented management and operating changes, and a successful donor drive. The deficit for the nine months ending September 30, 2003, was $227,000 - less than half the amount recorded during the same period in 2002.

Participants of the three-day meeting - the UNA's executive officers, advisors, auditors and honorary members of the General Assembly - heard and discussed reports on the UNA's business operations and fraternal activities for the past year. This was the first opportunity the board of advisors had to come together to assess the company's performance after this, the first full completed year of operation by the new administration elected in May 2002.

The annual meeting's sessions were chaired by UNA President Stefan Kaczaraj. Participating members of the General Assembly included: First Vice-President Martha Lysko, National Secretary Christine Kozak, Treasurer Roma Lisovich, Director for Canada Al Kachkowski, Auditor Alexander Serafyn and Advisors Myron Groch, Joseph Hawryluk, Stefan Hawrysz, Michael Kuropas, Vasyl Luchkiw, Eugene Oscislawski, Pawlo Prinko and Andrij Skyba.

Also attending were two honorary members of the General Assembly, Myron Kuropas and Tekla Moroz, who take part in an advisory capacity, but have no vote at General Assembly meetings.

Not present were: Second Vice-President Eugene Iwanciw, Auditor Zenon Holubec, (excused for medical reasons), Auditor Yaroslav Zaviysky and Advisors Barbara Bachynsky (excused due to medical reasons), Wasyl Liscynesky and Myron Pylypiak.

In keeping with tradition, the annual meeting opened with a wreath-laying ceremony at Soyuzivka's monument to Taras Shevchenko, patron of the UNA. The American, Canadian and Ukrainian national anthems were played, and Mrs. Moroz read a text about Taras Shevchenko. The brief ceremony concluded with the General Assembly members' singing of his "Testament" (Zapovit).

Once inside the Main House Library, members observed a moment of silence in memory of the UNA officers, on both the national and local levels, who had died during the past year: UNA Honorary Members Anna Haras and Wasyl Didiuk, UNA secretaries Michael Turko (Branch 63), Mychajlo Spontak (Branch 204) Bohdan Semkiw (Branch 240), and Stephan Kolodrub (Branch 137).

Stefan Hawrysz, long-time UNA advisor and auditor, began the sessions with a prayer to the Almighty.

After adoption of the agenda and approval of the minutes from the 2002 meeting of the General Assembly, the first order of business was to establish the planning committees as follows:

Organizing Committee: Ms. Kozak, Mr. Hawryluk, Ms. Lysko, Mr. Hawrysz and Mr. Prinko;
Fraternal Committee: Myron Kuropas, Michael Kuropas, Mr. Oscislawski and Mr. Skyba;
Canadian Committee: Mr. Kachkowski, Mr. Groch and Mrs. Moroz;
Financial Committee: Michael Kuropas, Mr. Luchkiw and Mr. Serafyn, as well as Ms. Lisovich, who as the UNA treasurer serves on the committee ex officio. This committee prepares the budget for 2004.

At the time of the General Assembly meeting, the following members had not submitted any reports to the board: Messrs. Iwanciw, Pylypiak, Liscynesky and Prinko, and Mrs. Bachynsky.

All other members of the General Assembly had prepared written reports for the meeting, and only addenda to those reports were delivered during the session. Written reports were received also from the UNA publications' editors-in-chiefs, Irene Jarosewich of Svoboda and Roma Hadzewycz of The Ukrainian Weekly, as well as Soyuzivka's Director of Hospitality Nestor Paslawsky.

The UNA's three full-time executive officers presented highlights of their reports before the entire assembly.

Treasurer Lisovich reported that the economy and financial condition of the company continues to present challenges. However, the UNA remains on a slow path to financial recovery, currently holding $64,342,000 in admitted assets as of September 30, 2003, vs $63,842,000 as of December 31, 2002. Soyuzivka, an asset with a recorded value of over $2,843,000 (from a statutory accounting reporting standpoint) is designated as a non-admitted asset and, as such, is not included in the above net asset figure.

Reversing the decline of previous years, the UNA experienced a marked improvement in its reserve position, as the adjusted surplus of $7,124,000 rose markedly as of September 30, 2003, from $5,835,000 for the year ending December 31, 2002 - a 22 percent increase.

Aside from the improvement of the reserve position, several other highlights marked 2003. Annuity sales continue to be strong and for the past nine months fall just under $2 million.

The Soyuzivka deficit of $750,000 as of December 31, 2002, has been successfully reduced.

The UNA's two newspapers, after a $252,000 deficit for the year ending December 31, 2002, in the nine months ending September 30, 2003, show a demonstrable improvement in their financial situation. The combined deficit for Svoboda and The Weekly of $137,000 for the first nine months of 2003 is in line with the projected budget. However, the steady decline in subscribers remains a concern.

National Secretary Kozak focused her remarks on the need to build membership and increase revenue. On the positive side, annuity sales are very strong and were the prime catalyst for revenue growth this year. The aging of the UNA's branch secretaries, the need for professional expertise in view of the more complicated insurance products available and the development of appropriate long-term strategies for the rejuvenation of the UNA remain her prime focus.

Ms. Kozak also reported that UNA membership stands at about 46,000 in the United States and Canada. The membership growth rate remains inadequate and overall responsiveness of the branches, aside from a few active ones, needs substantial improvement. All of these issues are being addressed in the design of a new marketing campaign that includes new brochures, ads and sales tools.

The last U.S. Census 2000 indicates that there are over 850,000 Americans of Ukrainian descent in the country. This provides a huge potential resource for UNA, Ms. Kozak noted.

President Kaczaraj underlined the financial results, summarized the general performance of the company and outlined the strategic direction the organization should adopt.

The Auditing Committee, represented by Messrs. Zaviysky and Serafyn, reported on the independent audit they conducted prior to the commencement of the General Assembly's annual meeting. At the conclusion of their report, the chairman of the Auditing Committee made a motion to accept the reports of all members of the General Assembly.

During the 35th Convention of the UNA in May 2002, a resolution was passed by the delegates requesting that the UNA rejoin the UCCA.

Mr. Hawrysz, a long-time UNA activist, addressed the General Assembly members, emphazing that the time had come to cast differences aside for the good of the community, and proposed a resolution that the UNA restore its membership in the UCCA.

The resolution, which was reprinted in its entirety in last week's issue, passed unanimously. The General Assembly was united in its belief that the UNA should take the directive and lead our community in the restoration of harmony and peace.

The UCCA, an umbrella organization of Ukrainian civic associations in the United States, was founded at the First Congress of Ukrainian Americans in Washington, on May 25, 1940. Its chief promoters were four fraternal insurance associations: the Ukrainian National Association, the Ukrainian Workingmen's Association (today the Ukrainian Fraternal Association), the Providence Association of Ukrainian Catholics in America and the Ukrainian National Aid Association. Prior to the schism, the UCCA had grown to encompass about 70 political, social, scholarly, professional, economic, religious, women's, young people's and veterans' organizations of a national status and 65 local branches. As a result of the 1980 rift, representative memberships had dropped to 42 organizations as reported in 1990.

President Kaczaraj expressed his pleasure with the result of the vote in this way: "The UNA desires to be a unifying force in the community. We will continue to retain all of our present memberships in Ukrainian national organizations with the express desire of bringing about a spirit of cooperation and harmony that will lead to our community having one strong, unified voice in the public arena."

The afternoon was dedicated to a series of open and closed sessions dedicated to strategic planning for our publications, development plans for Soyuzivka, marketing plans to stimulate membership growth and fraternal activities.

As part of these sessions, Treasurer Lisovich presented a Power Point presentation on the history of the UNA to be used for seminars, membership meetings and solicitations. This will be available on CD and/or DVD, and is the first in a series of marketing materials that is available for distribution.

The Financial Committee's proposed budget, presented by Ms. Lisovich was accepted.

Other noteworthy decisions were made:

Going forward, members, when moving to a new address, will be given the option to switch to a branch closer to their new home. This will allow them to participate in local branch events and allow them to participate in the decision-making process of the branch, which includes voting for convention delegates. If a member prefers to remain with his/her present branch, he may elect to do so.
The UNA wants to increase its visibility in the community and expand its educational and charitable projects. A new educational resource guide for teachers and students has been revised to be used by U.S. high schools as part of their Famine curriculum. In response to today's media and visually oriented society, the resource includes a Power Point presentation as a visual aid. This is being prepared also in Ukrainian to be used in schools of Ukrainian studies.

The meeting adjourned on Saturday evening, after which delegates enjoyed dinner and local entertainment.

| Home Page |