2003: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

The noteworthy of 2003: events and achievements

Noteworthy - that's what we call the category of things that should be noted in our Year in Review issue, but perhaps do not easily fit any of our other categories. Following, listed in the order in which they were reported in this newspaper, are the notable events and achievements cited in 2003.

• After previous digs in 1995-1997, it was reported early in the year that excavations were under way again in 2001-2002 in Baturyn, located in the Chernihiv region north east of Kyiv. The expedition is sponsored by the Kowalsky Program for the Study of Eastern Ukraine of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS), whose Dr. Zenon Kohut contributed much advice on the project, and the Shevchenko Scientific Society of America. Dr. Volodymyr Kovalenko, along with his team of 70 students from the University of Chernihiv unearthed artifacts from Baturyn, the official capital of the Kozak Hetman state in eastern Ukraine in 1669-1708 and 1750-1764.
  
  Dr. Volodymyr Mezentsev of the University of Toronto, who was among the leaders of the archeological expedition, reported in The Weekly in January that the hetman's large brick palace in the citadel of Baturyn and its approximate size, ground plan, and architectural design were discovered. In addition, researchers have found traces of the wooden Church of the Resurrection. Researchers also uncovered a Kozak officer's opulent home, and hope to excavate Hetman Ivan Mazepa's residence, which consists of a wooden church. Not only have structures been unearthed, but archaeologists have discovered all types of ceramic tiles, weapons and tools, icons, coins, and other items.
  
  Most significantly, also discovered were 26 skeletal remains, mainly of elderly men, women and children, pointing to the violent massacre that occurred there in 1708. Russian troops massacred most of the town's population of 15,000 in addition to the Kozaks in Baturyn, as a punishment for Mazepa taking the Swedes' side in the Northern War.
  
  Donations were solicited welcome to continue the archaeological expedition in 2003 and beyond, which Chernihiv archaeologists estimate will cost $16,000 (U.S.) per summer season. In addition, the Ukraine-Canada archeological expedition prepared two video documentaries about the project.
  
  
• Through the hard work of the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund (CCRF), the kindness of Dr. Oleh Slupchynskyj and the dedication of doctors in Ukraine, Mariyka Tkachuk's future now seems promising. A February story reported that the little girl was born in a Kyiv hospital, where an infection had already killed four newborns. It was not long before the viral infection affected Mariyka, leading to the disintegration of her nose, and loss of a breathing passage. On a routine visit to Kyiv Children's Hospital No. 2, a hospital CCRF has supported for some time, a doctor took Zenon and Nadia Matkiwsky, co-founders of CCRF, to visit the 4-month-old, and they immediately felt inclined to help.
  
  In their search for s doctor who could perform the complicated reconstructive surgery, the Matkiwskys recalled Dr. Slupchynskyj, whom they knew from the Ukrainian National Association's resort, Soyuzivka Dr. Slupchynskyj grew up in the East Village in New York City, attended St. George Ukrainian Catholic School, was a member of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization and graduated magna cum laude from Fordham University. He then earned his medical degree from New York Medical College in Valhalla in 1991.
  
  Though the distance between him and his possible patient worried Dr. Slupchynskyj, he requested a picture of Mariyka right away, then went to Ukraine. Bringing his own equipment, he was amazed at how much Ukrainian doctors achieve with so little available to them, "I saw them do things that I've never seen our doctors [in the United States] do. They [the Ukrainian medical team] are very talented," Dr. Slupchynskyj said.
  
  An amazing battle was won with the opening of a nasal passage for little Mariyka and the beginning of the process to restore her nose, but the war is not yet over. According to Dr. Slupchynskyj, he will make several more trips to Ukraine to perform additional surgeries on Mariyka.
  
  
• Assistant U.S. Attorney Bohdan Vitvitsky won the Department of Justice Director's Award for his work as lead prosecutor in a series of related cases involving a so-called land flip scheme and conspiracy, which is a type of bank fraud. In these cases, the 11 convicted participants included real estate businessmen, lawyers, appraisers and bankers. The annual Department of Justice awards ceremony, at which Attorney General John Ashcroft delivered the principal address, was held at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington and was reported in February.
  
  The U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of New Jersey first nominated Dr. Vitvitsky for the award, then a jury of federal prosecutors assembled by Main Justice in Washington selected him from a pool of other nominees. Attorney General John Ashcroft delivered the principal address at the ceremony. Dr. Vitvitsky received this same award in 1995 from then Attorney General Janet Reno for his prosecution of an international fraud case. Dr. Vitvitsky is a founding member and leading activist of the Ukrainian American Professionals and Businesspersons of New York and New Jersey.
  
  
• On Sunday, March 16, the local Ukrainian Center and the Passaic branches of the Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM) and the Organization for Lemkivschyna hosted "Sylvia's Brunch for Hope and Blood Drive for Life." The fund-raiser made almost $15,000 to contribute to Sylvia Hyra's soaring medical bills, which have accumulated to treat the leukemia with which doctors diagnosed the 14-year-old girl.
  
  In September 2001 Sylvia had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a fatal type of bone cancer beneath the knee, which only several hundred patients are diagnosed with annually. Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City toiled for 12 hours to remove the tumor from under Sylvia's knee. They then implanted four inches of donated bone supported by metal plates and 13 screws, to replace the bone they had removed. However, following the surgery, Sylvia had to endure three emergency surgeries to return blood flow to her leg. Sylvia then had to bear six months of chemotherapy and physical therapy, but it was successful; she was in remission by August 2002.
  
  With months of chemotherapy, Sylvia's cancer vanished, but returned in the form of acute myeoblastic leukemia in November 2002. This type of leukemia sometimes occurs when chemotherapy is used to treat bone cancer. No additional healthy cells resided in Sylvia's bone marrow, so chemotherapy was administered once again, which cured Sylvia of her cancer. She required a bone marrow transplant for which a donor was found and the surgery was performed successfully. Mounting medical expenses were a concern, however, which is why family and friends appealed to the community for support. Among those who aided the cause were New Jersey women who donated the proceeds of a Ladies' Night Out.
  
  
• Bell Labs scientist Andrew Chraplyvy, a pioneer in the development of high capacity optical fiber communications systems, on March 25 received the Optical Society of America's 2003 John Tyndall Award during the international Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) conference, which took place in Atlanta this past spring.
  
  The award, co-sponsored by the Optical Society of America and the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society, is named for the 19th century British scientist who first demonstrated the phenomenon of total internal reflection. It recognizes individuals who have made significant or continuing technical or leadership contributions to fiber-optics technology. Dr. Chraplyvy was honored for "pioneering research on optical fiber non-linearities and their dispersion management, and leading wavelength-division-multiplexed fiber transmission systems beyond terabit/second capacities."
  
  Dr. Chraplyvy, who is director of the lightwave systems research department at Bell Labs, the research and development arm of Lucent Technologies, joined Bell Labs in 1980 after receiving an undergraduate degree in physics from Washington University in St. Louis, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from Cornell University. He is a Bell Labs Fellow, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Optical Society of America and a member of the IEEE.
  
  
• Among those killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York City, Washington, and Pennsylvania was Ukrainian American Oleh Wengerchuk. While some people gave in to deep sorrow and despair, and others pledged vengeance, Dennis Cannelis, a computer software company CEO from Texas, chose a different way to deal with the loss of his friend. In July 2002 he founded a non-profit tax-exempt organization, the Oleh D. Wengerchuk Memorial Foundation (ODWMF), and invested $10,000 to create a living legacy to his friend: a scholarship program for orphaned, underprivileged or handicapped children in Ukraine. Mr. Cannelis recalled how Oleh touched those around him through his hard work, his love for the fine arts and Ukrainian culture, his love for social interaction, and his kindness in helping others to feel special about themselves.
  
  The scholarship program is implemented in cooperation with Help Us Help the Children (HUHTC), a non-governmental organization in Ukraine that has been working with orphans since 1996, and U-CARE, the American sister-organization of HUHTC. As of 2003, 56 students were enrolled in the scholarship program - 10 of whom were funded by the Oleh D. Wengerchuk Memorial Foundation. The scholarship covers: books and school supplies; a monthly stipend; clothing; tutors, when necessary; medical and dental expenses; and travel to Kyiv for quarterly reviews with HUHTC staff, including a staff psychologist who is available for counseling and evaluation.
  
  In addition to pursuing their education, they participate in the HUHTC's summer camp program for orphans which takes place every year in the Carpathian Mountains (there were over 500 participants from across Ukraine just this past year).
  
  
• Ukraine Post continued to produce attractive and interesting stamp issues last year, continuing various popular series from the past, as well as initiating quite a few new ones. In all, 66 stamps appeared in 2002, 15 of which were part of four souvenir sheets. In the end, the "Ukrainian Folk Costumes" release designed by Mykola Kochubei, which garnered 14 percent of the vote, edged out the "Military History of Ukraine" issue stamps featuring ancient Scythian warriors, which got 12 percent of the vote; and the "Kyiv Through Artist's Eyes" stamp set (stamps depicting cityscapes by Taras Shevchenko), which had 11 percent.
  
  Also receiving substantial support was Ukraine's first chess stamp commemorating Ruslan Ponomariov becoming the 16th World Chess Champion (8 percent), a new four-stamp set honoring Ukrainian space scientists (8 percent), and the latest three stamps of the ongoing "Hetmans of Ukraine" series (7 percent).
  
  The prize is named after Heorhii Narbut, Ukraine's famous graphic artist of the early 20th century, who designed some of Ukraine's first stamps and banknotes. Instituted by Ingert Kuzych in 1992, the year Ukraine resumed stamp production, the monetary prize has been awarded annually and is now regarded as the premier recognition for Ukraine's philatelic designers.
  
  
• Breast cancer is the No. 1 killer of women in the world, and Ukraine is one of the countries with the highest breast cancer incidence rates in Europe, with 15,000 new cases diagnosed annually. The incidence rate has doubled over the last 10 years. In response to Ukrainian women's needs in Ukraine, a fund-raising campaign dubbed "Because Life is Beautiful" was begun in the summer of 2002. It began with the sale of notecards (packets of eight) by Ukrainian women artists to raise money to produce public education materials on how to do breast self-examinations and to purchase medical equipment for the detection of breast cancer. In addition to the card fund-raiser, a charity event was held on November 17, 2002, in the Ukrainian House featuring singers and designers.
  
  During 2003 the "Because Life is Beautiful" campaign made it to the United States and Canada, where benefit fashions shows were held in Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Washington and New York, where the tour concluded on June 7. The shows featured fashions by Anna Babenko, Viktoria Gres and Oksana Karavanska; among the models was Miss Ukraine 1996 Natalia Shvachko.
  
  Project coordinator Marta Kolomayets, a former associate editor at The Ukrainian Weekly who is president of Public Education International in Kyiv, explained that breast cancer awareness is a serious problem in Ukraine. "Ukrainian women do not have access to information and diagnostic tools. We've started a big learning process through pamphlets and brochures, but there's a desperate need for mammogram machines," she said. "If this fund drive can pay for mammogram machines in the provinces and save even a few lives, it's well worth the time and effort we've put into it." Ms. Kolomayets said that the North American campaign had realized approximately $100,000.
  
  
• As the world reacted to the tragic and unexpected loss of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003 and mourned the death of its seven-person crew of NASA astronauts, Cmdr. Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper did so as well. Unlike most people, however, she had additional reasons to be shocked by the disaster; three of the Columbia astronauts were her former NASA classmates, whom she was scheduled to follow into space in the spring as a fellow NASA astronaut. Her flight would have marked the first trip into space by an American astronaut of Ukrainian descent.
  
  Like all other shuttle flights in the wake of the disaster, Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper's flight - designated STS No. 115 - was delayed indefinitely as NASA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) complete their investigation into the causes of Columbia's break-up during its fiery re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. But despite this tragedy and the current grounding of the shuttle fleet, Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper is determined that her own venture into space, and NASA's manned space program, will go forward, "It's not a question of if we will resume manned flight, but when."
  
  Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper is an honorary member of the Ukrainian Engineers' Society of America, and was the keynote speaker at the UESA's 50th anniversary banquet in 1998. She was active in the Ukrainian community in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, where she grew up, and was a member of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization. Today she has ties to the Ukrainian American Cultural Club of Houston.
  
  
• Ukrainian Canadian Borys Chabursky became one of only 320 Canadians ever to be named a winner of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 - a prestigious award that honors Canadian leaders who have reached a significant level of success by the age of 40. Honorees of the award, which this year were picked from among a record 1,400 candidates, are selected by a distinguished panel of 29 business and community leaders as part of an annual national program founded and managed by The Caldwell Partners to "celebrate the leaders of today and tomorrow." The program was designed to "promote mentorship and professional development by introducing these leaders to the established business community and by promoting them as role models for young Canadians." Finalists for the Top 40 under 40 award were rated on five criteria: vision and leadership, impact, growth and development strategy, innovation and achievement, and community involvement and contribution. Winners were announced on April 15.
  
  Mr. Chabursky, 35, received the award for his work as the president and founder of Strategic Health Innovations (SHI) and for the pro bono work he has done outside of his company. Much of Mr. Chabursky's and SHI's work involves finding venture capital for biotechnology start-ups. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Mr. Chabursky's hometown of Toronto, SHI is one of Canada's largest biotechnology consultancies.
  
  Mr. Chabursky was nominated for the award by Dr. Richard Heinzl, a founder of the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize-winning Canadian chapter of Doctors Without Borders. He has also found time to continue his involvement as a member of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization and its Chornomortsi fraternity, and is an active member of the Ukrainian community in Toronto.
  
  
• Thirty-five years of dedicated and inspired research reaped their reward when the American Chemical Society (ACS) recognized the contributions of Dr. Swiatoslaw Trofimenko with a symposium held in his honor at the ACS Spring National Meeting in New Orleans on March 23-27. As reported in the April 28 issue of the Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN), a journal of the ACS, the symposium, sponsored by the ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry, was titled "Scorpionate Ligands - Thirty Five Years Later," and was organized to honor Dr. Trofimenko, the creator of the scorpionate ligand system, a diverse class of some 200 compounds that form complexes with all metal ions. Significantly, scorpionate ligands made the cover of this latest issue of C&EN.
  
  Ligands in this case are large organic molecules containing boron and nitrogen atoms that bind to metal ions. The ligands that Dr. Trofimenko created and developed bear the proper chemical name polypyrazolylborates, but the manner in which they combine with metal ions reminded him of the grabbing-and-stinging action of a scorpion, hence he coined for them the term "scorpionates." This metaphoric nomenclature has been accepted by chemists worldwide.
  
  Dr. Trofimenko is a vice-president and learned secretary of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in America, a vice-president of the Lypynsky institute of East European Research and a member of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences in the U.S. (UVAN). He is also a member of the ACS, in which he held a number of national and regional offices.
  
  
• Emergency Medical Aid for Ukraine (EMAU), the medical commission of the Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM), noted in May that it was honored to be chosen from among thousands of humanitarian groups to be filmed for an informative documentary called "Legacy of Liberty" produced by the highly acclaimed series "The Visionaries." The story of EMAU's work in Ukraine was funded by a $250,000 grant from "The Visionaries" and $50,000 in supplementary donations from Ukrainian community groups and individuals of all nationalities. The program, filmed on site, shows EMAU's work in Ukraine by focusing on the children and adult patients it helps, and in particular, it tells the story of EMAU's efforts at the Lviv Regional burn center in the treatment of a young boy electrocuted by a fallen power line.
  
  EMAU has received several awards and much media attention in the 12 years of its existence, including the Firestone "100 Who Serve Award," the Washington Chief Consular Award for humanitarian aid to Ukraine and the "Mykhailo Hrushevsky Medal" for significant dedication to the Ukrainian people and for humanitarian aid by the International Golden Fortune Foundation.
  
  EMAU, whose coordinator/director is Roman Dashawetz, is an innovative "no frills" non-profit organization whose mission is to set up medical centers of excellence in Ukraine in order to provide state-of-the-art medical care to its people. EMAU is an all-volunteer organization, in which all of its volunteers are unpaid and take upon themselves all administrative, travel and lodging costs. Ninety nine percent of donated funds are used for the direct medical care of patients. EMAU's goal is to guarantee self-reliance and eventual self-sufficiency in the hospitals that it serves through education and training of the Ukrainian medical personnel and administrators.
  
  
• Few in the diaspora doubt that the Soviet Union was an evil empire. Yet, documentation to support what everyone knew either from personal experience or oral history was not available to the public until the fall of communism. The museum exhibition "Not to be Forgotten," brought from Kyiv to Washington on April 10, provided a plethora of evidence pointing to the Soviet torture of Ukrainians. The exhibit was also on view at other venues throughout the U.S.
  
  Seventy large panels illustrated the hidden history of Ukraine under Soviet communism, from 1917 as the fledgling independence was crushed to 1991 when it became a reality. This independence was won by the martyrdom of millions of Ukrainians tortured, starved and executed. The exhibition was documented with archival documents of orders of arrest and execution, photographs of excavated mass graves, and the lists of the executed in the executioners' own handwriting. The non-profit, non-governmental exhibit is permanently housed at the Kyiv City All-Ukrainian Memorial Society of Vasyl Stus.
  
  
• For Long Island native Taissa Kuncio, leaving the Ukrainian community in New York and moving across the United States to own and run an outdoor adventure company in San Francisco just seemed like the right thing to do. In June 2003, a year after having taken over the reins of Absolute Adventures with a college friend, membership in the company tripled and the move, Ms. Kuncio said, was definitely a good choice. From the more extreme skydiving, climbing and whitewater rafting outings to kayaking alongside leopard sharks or under a lunar eclipse, Ms. Kuncio said the company helps expose people to "all of the natural wonders that the [San Francisco] region has to offer."
  
  The company, which Ms. Kuncio and her partner bought in early 2002, organizes a wide variety of events for people who might otherwise lack the time or inclination to do so on their own. Many of the more social events, which are often done on weeknights, provide a way for the adventure company to build trust and a relationship with prospective clients. "Climbing with people you barely know can be unnerving," Ms. Kuncio said. "The dinners together give people an opportunity to get to know us, become familiar with us and trust us."
  
  
• The Batkivschyna was still sailing in 2003. In late October of 2002 the Ukrainian sailing vessel, Batkivschyna, completed the third leg of a five stage journey that should have it back in Kyiv near the end of 2004. Batkivschyna is a 28-meter-long schooner, which gained international attention and a front page story in The New York Times in July 2000, after a harried trans-Atlantic crossing, which left it lost at sea at one point and well behind in its plans to join Operation Sail. Batkivschyna did succeed, however, in arriving for Op Sail, the international gathering of sea vessels on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States in celebration of the Millennium - the largest such event in maritime history before it was over.
  
  Batkivschyna had set off on April 7, 2000, from its home port of Kyiv to "let the world know about Ukraine," as its skipper, Dmytro Biriukovich, explained at the time. He decided to develop a project named "Discover Ukraine," which would inform people about Ukraine and also allow him to travel the world. Overcoming financial and crew difficulties, Batkivschyna journeyed through the Great Lakes in 2001, then sailed to the Caribbean in 2002 and, after crossing the Panama Canal, headed up the Pacific coast of the United States. In June it was to depart from Long Beach, Calif., to continue its voyage to the Lahaina Yacht Club in Maui, Hawaii. After Hawaii, Batkivschyna's destinations were New Zealand and Australia, to attend the Tasmania Tall Ship Festival scheduled for early 2004, after receiving an official invitation from the Tasmanian government.
  
  
• Ukrainian American Mark Olesnicky was elected president of the Medical Society of New Jersey (MSNJ) for the 2003-2004 term. He was honored on May 2 as the 211th president of the Medical Society of New Jersey during a special evening at The Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia. The MSNJ is the state's largest organization for doctors, with approximately 8,500 of the 22,000 physicians in the state belonging to the group.
  
  Dr. Olesnicky, 60, set several goals for his term as president of the MSNJ, among which is increasing MSNJ membership. Another top objective for Dr. Olesnicky's term is the achievement of tort reform, meaning a change in the rules of malpractice lawsuits against doctors. His agenda also includes pressing for reform the system of managed care so that doctors regain a measure of autonomy.
  
  Prior to his election as president of the MSNJ, Dr. Olesnicky served as president of the Essex County medical society, president of the St. Barnabas medical staff, a delegate to the MSNJ House of Delegates, and vice-chair of the American Medical Association (AMA) delegation. He has also served on the Council on Communications and the Committee on Finance and Budget. Dr. Olesnicky is known also for his charitable work, such as bringing children in need of specialized medical care from Ukraine to the United States.
  
  
• On April 18 the first woman "claimed" the North Pole by planting the Ukrainian flag at the apex of our planet. Ukrainian American Moki Kokoris ventured to degree 90 North, a childhood dream and secret wish which she never truly believed could be realized. However, while on this amazing expedition, Ms. Kokoris discovered that as large as the planet Earth really is, as minuscule and trivial as one can feel while standing in the midst of it all, it can still be a small world.
  
  While on the last leg of her journey Ms. Kokoris flew in a helicopter from Borneo Ice Base Camp to a "safe" landing spot nearest the pole. As has been the case since 1968, all of the aircraft, as well as the base camp itself, are operated by Russians. Because the Ukrainian language is close enough to theirs, communication with the crew was rather effortless for Ms. Kokoris. Once all of the adventurers stepped out onto the ice, the expedition leaders began to set up flags they had brought along - one representing each expedition member's country. But their set did not include a Ukrainian flag, which is when Ms. Kokoris quickly unrolled the one she had brought with her. When it was her turn to step into the half circle of flapping flags she unfurled hers and to her surprise one of the helicopter pilots introduced himself as Yurii Kuzmenko from the city of Kremenchuk in Ukraine.
  
  
• President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma on June 11 presented the Order of Princess Olha, III level, to Western NIS Enterprise Fund President and Chief Executive Officer Natalie A. Jaresko in recognition of her distinguished contribution toward the development of Ukraine's investment climate. Established in 1997, the Princess Olha Order is one of the most prestigious national awards recognizing women who have made remarkable achievements and contributions to the national, industrial, social, scientific, educational, cultural, charitable and other spheres of life in Ukraine.
  
  Under Ms. Jaresko's leadership and guidance, WNISEF has become the region's leading private equity fund. It has built a nearly $80 million investment portfolio that includes 24 companies in Ukraine and Moldova. The majority of these companies lead the market in consistently providing high-quality, innovative products and services as a result of their enduring commitment to excellence in all business areas. WNISEF's portfolio companies set standards for other businesses in the region and serve as strong examples of success that attract further potential investment into economies. A Chicago native, Ms. Jaresko was named by Mayor Richard Daley to the Kyiv-Chicago Sister City Committee.
  
  
• Vira Hladun-Goldmann made headlines in 1998 when she divorced her husband of 33 years and was awarded half of his estimated $90 million estate - the largest equitable divorce award in American history. In 2003, Vira, as she insists she be called, published a how-to book on divorce.
  
  By mid-year her book "Separate Ways: Relationships, Divorce and Independence of Mind," written with the help of ghostwriter Eli Gottlieb, has sold over 5,000 copies and received great reviews. In it, the Rochester, N.Y. native talks with gusto about her marriage to banker Robert Goldman and their eventual divorce, and counsels women on finding the right lawyer, choosing between mediation or court, keeping a marital diary and managing finances.
  
  The author said she believes the two things most necessary to a woman facing the end of a marital relationship are information and confidence. Extremely important for a divorcing woman, she wrote, is to start keeping a diary dedicated to showing what she does in a typical married day. Then she can realize what she has given to the partnership and, more importantly, begin the process of recognizing her value.
  
  
• On August 8, Bronko Nagurski was honored with his own stamp as part of a set of four 37-cent "Early Football Heroes" stamps released by the United Postal Service. Born November 3, 1908, just north of the US border, in Rainy River, Ontario, Nagurski, a man who was destined to become part of history, was born. His Ukrainian immigrant parents, Michael and Michelina Nagurski, crossed the border to International Falls, Minn., in 1912. Bronko (a nickname for Bronislaw), spent most of his time working on his father's dairy farm there or delivering groceries. His free time was spent hunting or fishing in the area's wild surroundings.
  
  Nagurski's natural athletic abilities displayed themselves in the sports he took up at the high school in International Falls, and he was recruited to play football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers in 1926. He wound up playing four different positions. In 1929 he was named consensus All-American at two different positions, fullback and tackle - the first and only player to accomplish such a feat. In 1930 Bronko turned down numerous offers for commercial endorsements and signed with the Chicago Bears of the still-young National Football League. He signed his first contract for $5,000, making him one of the league's highest paid players. With Bronko leading the way, the Bears won the championship in 1932 and 1933, and advanced to the title game in 1934 and 1937.
  
  In order to supplement his income during the Depression of the 1930s, Nagurski turned to professional wrestling part time. In 1938, when Halas, his coach, refused to raise his salary to $6,500, Nagurski retired from football to follow a career in professional wrestling. In 1937 he became the world wrestling champion and appeared in "Ripley's Believe It or Not" as the king of two sports. He again became wrestling champion in 1939 and 1941, and then retired. He then dedicated himself to full-time farming.
  
  The following year the Chicago Bears implored Bronko to come out of his six-year retirement and play one more year with his old team. He agreed under two conditions: that he would be allowed to come late, after the harvest was in; and that he would only play tackle, since he doubted that he could still be effective at his old position of running back. He went on to win a crucial game for the Bears in the final regular-season game against their arch-rival, the Cardinals. Bronko Nagurski died in 1990 at the age of 81.
  
  
• In an attempt to get the public interested in space travel again, one private company, Canadian Arrow, launched a competition for the X PRIZE. Headquartered in London, Ontario, Canadian Arrow is the first private firm to send a rocket to space. On June 26 Canadian Arrow announced its participation in the program and introduced the six people who have been selected to train as astronauts for Canadian Arrow.
  
  The first team that privately finances, builds, and launches a spaceship that can carry three people to travel to an altitude of 62.5 miles, returns safely to Earth, and repeats the launch with the same ship within two weeks wins the $10 million X PRIZE. Hundreds of people applied to take part in the X PRIZE mission, but only six were chosen, one of whom was Ukrainian cosmonaut Dr. Yaroslav Pustovyi. Dr. Pustovyi, a Ukrainian, was born in Kostroma, Russia, but now lives in Kyiv.
  
  In 1993 Dr. Pustovyi graduated from Mozhaiskyi Space Engineering Military Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, with a master of science degree in radio electronics engineering with honors. He then received a doctorate in physics and mathematics (radio physics) in 1996 from Kharkiv State University in Ukraine. Since then Dr. Pustovyi has worked as an astronaut for the National Space Agency of Ukraine, where he is responsible for strategic planning and analytic studies.
  
  Dr. Pustovyi also passed a year-long training program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Florida. From December 1996 to January 1998 Dr. Pustovyi served as a backup payload specialist for STS-87 crew, which flew the Space Shuttle Columbia mission in November and December of 1997. His colleague Col. Leonid Kadenyuk flew on that mission, becoming the first Ukrainian cosmonaut to fly on a U.S. spacecraft and the first Ukrainian to fly into space since Ukraine declared its independence.
  
  
• An all-star cast of international skaters led by Ukrainian World and Olympic Champion Viktor Petrenko performed in a gala benefit titled "Viktory for Kids" in Danbury, Conn. for the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund on October 4.
  
  The first Viktory for Kids skating gala in March of 2001 raised over $105,000 and enabled CCRF to establish a state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit in Mr. Petrenko's hometown of Odesa, Ukraine. This year's program raised an estimated $125,000 in cash and in-kind contributions, including an Acuson XP pediatric ultrasound donated by the Siemens Corp. and a $20,000 title sponsorship from Western Union Financial Services. The program was also taped by Emmy-Award winning television producer Robert Dustin as a donation to CCRF.
  
  Prior to the ice skating gala at the Danbury Ice Arena, the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund also held a fund-raising reception across the street at the Colorado Brewery and Steakhouse, whose owner, Michael Kondrat is a prominent Danbury businessman of Ukrainian descent. A proclamation from Gov. John Rowland and the Connecticut State Legislature praised CCRF and Mr. Petrenko, and declared October 4 as "Viktory for Kids Day" in the state. A movie filmed by the staff at the Odesa Hospital, and narrated by Yuri Kokoris clearly showed the contrast between conditions at the hospital before and after CCRF implemented its modernization program.
  
  
• On October 1 Canada Post released a set of eight self-adhesive stamps honoring living Canadian Astronauts, one of which is Roberta Lynn Bondar, Canada's first woman in space, who is of Ukrainian background. The official unveiling of the stamps took place on September 26, at Saint-Hubert, Quebec, the home of the Canadian Space Agency, with all eight astronauts on hand.
  
  Dr. Bondar was born in Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, on December 4, 1945, the younger of two children. From an early age she was fascinated by the world of science and this interest was nurtured by her parents. She also became fascinated with flying and was able to pilot a plane even before she could drive a car. She dreamed of someday becoming a real astronaut and avidly followed the American space program through pictures and news clippings sent to her by an aunt living in Florida.
  
  In 1983 Dr. Bondar's long-cherished dream of exploring space became a real possibility when the National Research Council of Canada announced the formation of the Canadian space program, and invited applications from those interested in becoming astronauts. Dr. Bondar quickly submitted her application packet and spent the next several months undergoing a battery of interviews. In December of that year she was informed that she was one of six people, chosen from a field of over 4, 000 applicants, who would begin training to become the first Canadian astronauts.
  
  After a long wait, in 1990 Dr. Bondar learned that she would go into space as a payload specialist with the first International Microgravity Laboratory Mission, on board the space shuttle Discovery. She and the other six crew members had to wait a further two years for the launch of Mission STS-42, on January 22, 1992, which wound up lasting eight days.
  
  
• A Ukrainian American served during 2003 as interim minister of irrigation and senior advisor to Iraq's Ministry of Irrigation. Dr. Eugene Z. Stakhiv, chief of Planning, Policy, and Special Studies Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Institute for Water Resources (IWR), delivered a presentation on "Water Resource Management: Theory and Practice in the Iraqi Reconstruction Project" to a packed audience on October 28 at the Ukrainian Engineers' Society of New York City lecture series at the Ukrainian Institute of America.
  
  As interim minister in Iraq from April through August, Dr. Stakhiv was responsible for managing 18,000 employees, 11 state-owned companies and five state commissions. This included responsibility for 10 major dams, 22 large barrages, 271 pumping stations; generation of 2,500 megawatts of hydropower; providing irrigation water for 9 million acres, and delivering water to all of the larger municipalities in Iraq.
  
  Dr. Stakhiv has a doctorate in water resource systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University, has authored over 100 published papers, and is a member of the Ukrainian Engineers' Society of America.
  
  
• Roy Romanow, former premier of Saskatchewan, received the Fifth President's Award from the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association (UCPBA) of Toronto on November 5. The President's Award, titled "The Sower," is awarded by the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association of Toronto to individuals who have made a significant contribution to Canada.
  
  Mr. Romanow, who was also chairman of the Royal Commission on Medicare, was a member of the group dubbed by the media as the "Tuque and Uke Show," which resolved the impasse over the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution from Great Britain. The "Tuque and Uke Show" group was composed of Mr. Romanow, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Justice Roy McMurtry.
  
  The president of Toronto UCPBA, Roman Nazarewycz, presented the award to Mr. Romanow and paid tribute to Mr. Romanow's roots in Saskatchewan and his continuous association with the Ukrainian Canadian community in Saskatoon.
  
  
• The Ukrainian Technological Society presented its 2003 Ukrainian of the Year Award on November 15 to Nadia Komarnyckyj McConnell, the founder and the president of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation in Washington.
  
  Stephen Haluszczak, the founder and the president of the Ukrainian Cultural and Humanitarian Institute of Pittsburgh formally made the nomination of Mrs. McConnell at the annual awards dinner. He noted that the honoree is a graduate of Arizona State University with a bachelor of arts degree in political science, and brought many executive skills developed in industrial and government service to the founding of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, establishing its presence in the United States and Ukraine, even before Ukraine's independence. The major goals of the foundation, he noted, are facilitating democratic development, encouraging free market reform and enhancing human rights in Ukraine. As the founder of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, Mrs. McConnell has shown the way for many other Ukrainian constituencies to work for Ukraine through an active non-governmental organization (NGO).
  
  
• The World Monuments Fund (WMF), an organization dedicated to preserving the historic, artistic and architectural heritage of humankind, included two sites in Ukraine on its 2004 World Monument Watch List of 100 most endangered sites. The biennial Watch list is a call to action on behalf of threatened cultural-heritage monuments worldwide.
  
  In November it was reported that Ukraine appears on the "100 most endangered sites" list, with two sites listed: the ancient city of Panticapaeum (site of present-day Kerch), in Crimea and the Tyras-Bilhorod Fortress, in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Odesa.
  
  Part of WMF's description of the Panticapaeum site says: "Once the capital of the Bosporan Kingdom, the largest political site in the region of the ancient Black Sea, the ruins of the city of Panticapaeum contain evidence dating back to 2600 B.C. Over its long history the site has been occupied by Greeks, Scythians and Sarmatians, as evidenced in the art, architecture and Kerch-style ceramics of the Bosporan Kingdom. Since 1826, the site has been under the auspices of the Kerch Museum of Antiquities."
  
  The Tyras site is described by WMF as follows: "For centuries the fortress of Tyras-Belgorod [sic-WMF employs Russian-based transliteration] has watched over the calm waters of the Dniester [sic] Estuary. Founded in the sixth century B.C. as the Greek city of Tyras, the site was mentioned by Strabo, Ptolemy and Pliny. The ancient site encompasses the preserved remains of houses, paved streets, gutters, headquarters of a Roman garrison, and fortifications built of massive limestone plates unknown anywhere else in the world. Built in the Middle Ages, the fortress functioned as a military post for Byzantine, Moldavian, Turkish, and Russian forces until the early 19th century. With three gates, 20 towers, a defensive wall and a moat, Tyras-Belgorod is the only remaining medieval fortress in southwestern Ukraine."
  
  The WMF program identifies a broad range of endangered sites and brings them to the attention of the public, preservation professionals and local governments with the aim of protecting the world's endangered heritage and in saving individual sites.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 11, 2004, No. 2, Vol. LXXII

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