Turning the pages back... February 22, 2004 (02/20/05)

Turning the pages back...

February 22, 2004

Last year the Ukrainian National Association celebrated its 110th anniversary. On the occasion of that milestone, the UNA Executive Committee released a statement titled "Happy birthday, UNA! In celebration of our 110th year." Following are excerpts from the statement.

"... 110 years - a milestone! And, as such, a time for reflection. 110 years filled with achievements, successes, development and growth. We have had our share of disappointments, failures and turmoil. Yet, the UNA survived. Few organizations can be proud of such sustenance. Today the UNA is the oldest continuously running Ukrainian organization in this country.

"For all of us on the Executive Committee, it is a time to analyze, contemplate and strategize for the future. We must ask ourselves where are we today and where are we going to take the organization in the next decade.

"The UNA has always been here for Ukrainians. Can it continue to survive for the next 100 years? Will the UNA be able to face and overcome the continued growing fiscal and social challenges that confront our society, the changes in family structure, the diverse faces of the post-1990 wave of immigrants, the increased assimilation of our community, the shrinking spirit of activism and volunteerism, and an ever more transitory and dispersed population? How do we market ourselves to a community that has, for the most part, lost sight of the original purpose of the UNA and is unfamiliar with the structure or purpose of the organization?

"Today's newly arrived immigrants or the progeny of the founding father, for the most part, do not know what or whom the UNA represents. Yes, we sell insurance as our core business. Yes, we compete with the traditional insurance product providers, e.g., Prudential and John Hancock.

"But the UNA is so much more. It is not just an insurance company, and shouldn't be viewed as such.

"How many realize that it is the UNA's unique structure as a fraternal benefit society that allows us to take the profits collected by our insurance sales and put them right back into the community where needed, supporting cultural, educational and social programs within our diaspora community and in Ukraine? Will a Prudential or any other insurance company be willing to do this for our community?

"As a not-for-profit organization, members' dues are what supports the publications Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly, our beloved resort Soyuzivka, and a multitude of other social and community services. Certainly this value-added benefit makes the significance of the UNA and its role in the community as valid today as it was 110 years ago. ..."

Source: "Happy birthday, UNA! In celebration of our 110th year" (greetings from the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Association), The Ukrainian Weekly, February 22, 2004, Vol. LXXII, No. 8.

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