THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM (09/18/05)

THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM

New York Capital District holds its annual meeting at Soyuzivka

by Slavko Tysiak

KERHONKSON, N.Y. - Representatives of the five branches that make up the New York Capital District of the UNA recently traveled to Soyuzivka, one of the landmarks of "Batko Soyuz," to hold their annual district meeting.

Although not intentional, Mykola Fil, district chairman, said that when he realized the branches had not held their annual meeting, he decided there was no better time to hold such meeting than on June 19 at what has become for the district's branches an annual celebration of Father's Day at Soyuzivka. So, after a delicious buffet, branch members in attendance were invited to attend the annual district meeting. About a dozen members came to attend the annual district business meeting.

The New York Capital District is composed of five branches, including Watervliet (Branch 13, among the UNA's olderst), Cohoes (Branch 57), Amsterdam (Branch 88), Kerhonkson (Branch 200), and Amsterdam (Branch 266).

Chairman Fil called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m. and in opening remarks welcomed everyone, including Mr. Kwochka, a Ukrainian guest from Poland, before introducing Roma Lisovich, UNA treasurer, as the guest speaker from the UNA Home Office.

After thanking everyone for coming, Mr. Fil reviewed the agenda and then turned over the next portion of the meeting to Pavlo Shewchuk, as interim chairman, and Stefania Hawryluk, as interim secretary, to conduct and record the annual business meeting, including the election of new officers and committee members.

Slavko Tysiak, district secretary, read the minutes of the 2004 annual district meeting, and upon acceptance of the minutes, Mr. Shewchuk moved on with the reading of filed reports.

Mr. Fil followed by providing a summary of district activity for calendar year 2004. He reported that Capital District branches had signed up 22 new members, approximately two-thirds the established goal of 32 new members in 2004. He thanked the advisors and branch secretaries for their efforts and expressed hope that better results can be achieved in 2005. Mr. Fil noted he was especially pleased by the efforts of Branch 13 members who contributed funds in support of last year's Orange Revolution in Ukraine.

Next, Mr. Shewchuk read a financial report submitted by District Treasurer Walter Krywulych and approved by the Auditing Committee. The district reported a year-end cash balance of $1,296.52.

After the reading of reports, Mr. Shewchuk moved to the main event: the election of district officers and committee members. A motion was made by Michael Sawkiw Sr., seconded by Yaroslav Kushnir, calling for re-installing the 2004 slate of officers and committee members for 2005. Hearing no objections or suggestions for other potential candidates, Mr. Shewchuk called for a unanimous vote to be cast to reinstate the same officers for 2005.

District officers for 2005-2006 include the following: Mr. Fil, chairman, Mr. Shewchuk, honorary chairman; Ms. Hawryluk and Mr. Sawkiw, senior vice-chairpersons; Mr. Tysiak, secretary; and Mr. Krywulych, treasurer. Also, re-elected were the members of the Auditing Committee Mr. Shewchuk, Stanley Mochulsky and Andrij Demczar; as well as members of the Nomination Committee, John Udycz, Peter Spiak and Wasyl Terlecky.

After the election results were officially accepted by members in attendance and an enthusiastic welcome of the returning officers and committee members, District Chairman Fil resumed leadership of the business meeting and thanked Mr. Shewchuk and Ms. Hawryluk for helping conduct and record the results of the annual meeting.

Mr. Fil once again introduced Ms. Lisovich who, after extending her best wishes for a Happy Father's Day, provided an overview of what's been happening at the UNA from a financial perspective.

The UNA treasurer recounted several significant observations gleaned from the UNA's 2004 Annual Statistical and Financial Report. She highlighted that the UNA had more members in 2004 than the year prior and that the UNA sold more insurance policies but earned less profit than in 2003. She further commented that the investment portfolio is strong but not earning the same rate of return as in years past due to lower interest rates. The sales of annuities have dropped off due to members' interest in buying higher yielding certificates of deposits.

Shifting her focus to Soyuzivka, Ms. Lisovich mentioned that she understands that Soyuzivka had a higher occupancy rate than in years past but that operating costs continue to climb partly due to the need for significant repairs to the age of the buildings and equipment. She also mentioned that the cost of doing business continues to rise especially for property taxes and liability insurance. The business side of the UNA's publishing enterprise also continued to be a concern.

Ms. Lisovich also said that the newly established Soyuzivka Heritage Foundation Inc. would be filing for not-for-profit status as a 501(c) (3) corporation.

The UNA treasurer closed by saying that UNA branches need to stay visible in their local communities and that there's definitely more public interest in the UNA. However, she noted that it still is difficult to establish the need for life insurance among the newer immigration. She observed that it is quite ironic that the UNA must sell life insurance in order not to die as a viable business enterprise.

Following her remarks, members voiced a number of comments and suggestions regarding UNA branches and the UNA in general. A number of the comments dealt with the need for new brochures and artistic flyers to tell about the UNA and to explain both the need for life insurance and the different insurance products sold by the UNA.

District Chairman Fil closed the meeting by thanking everyone for attending and then asked for a motion to close the meeting. The annual business meeting closed at 3:30 p.m. upon a motion by Mr. Kushnir that was seconded by Mr. Spiak.

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