THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM (04/02/06)

THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM

Svoboda Press releases UNA Almanac for 2006

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - This year's Ukrainian National Association Almanac is dedicated to several important Ukrainian anniversaries, chief among them the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Franko.

The 2006 almanac's cover displays a stone cutter and an excerpt from Franko's well-known poem "Kameniari." The tribute to Franko includes excerpts from memoirs written by his colleagues and friends. Also included are commentaries on Franko's relevance in present times and his past contributions to the Ukrainian nation.

The almanac also includes articles on the 20th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at Chornobyl. They range from an essay by Heorhii Dzis who describes how the Chornobyl meltdown impacted his life and the lives of citizens on that spring day of April 26, 1986, to an analysis by Alla Yaroshynska of the web of lies and Soviet propaganda that followed the meltdown, with a concluding essay analyzing seismic activities around the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.

Also part of the almanac is a special tribute to the 160th anniversary of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood, the 140th anniversary of the birth of Mykhailo Hrushevsky, and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Bahriany. Also mentioned is the 120th anniversary of the birthday of Oleksander Tysovsky - known as "Drot" - the founder of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization.

An especially interesting chapter is one about two sleuths delving into Ukrainian history to uncover rumors surrounding the history of the Kozaks.

The conclusion of this almanac describes the process of the building of America's roads, from the Great Depression to the great feats undertaken by President Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration in the 1950s thanks to the rise of the automobile.

The price of the Ukrainian-language almanac is $15. It may be ordered by calling 973-292-9800 ext. 3042, by sending an e-mail to [email protected], or by mailing a check to: Svoboda, P.O. Box 280, 2200 Route 10, Parsippany, NJ 07054.

Subscribers to Svoboda have already received copies of the 2006 UNA Almanac in the mail.National Fraternal Congress unveils

"Fraternalists in Action" program

OAK BROOK, Ill. - The National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA) on March 17 unveiled its new fraternal recognition program, "Fraternalists in Action," that will highlight the many contributions of fraternal benefit societies and their members to local communities throughout the country.

This public awareness program was approved by the NFCA board of directors at its March 6, meeting in Scottsdale, Ari.

The NFCA Fraternalists in Action Program consists of two parts: weekly/monthly recognition of individual fraternal achievement and involvement of elected officials in lodge activities.

The first part of the program will serve to recognize and highlight fraternal efforts and accomplishments every week of the year and then again every month in Washington. The NFCA's recognition program will seek to put a face on fraternalism by recognizing five different "Fraternal MVPs" (Most Valuable Participants) each week for their fraternal accomplishments. The names of these Fraternal MVPs will be submitted by the NFCA's 76 member-societies. (Because of the diversity of size among the NFCA membership, member-societies will be divided into five different groups based on net assets.) Each month, the NFCA will fly five fraternalists, one randomly selected from each group for that month to Washington, to meet and be recognized by their respective members of Congress.

The second part will serve to involve members of Congress, as well as state and local elected officials, in member-society lodge activities and events. Many member-societies maintain at least a partial calendar of local lodge activities, functions or events. The NFCA will ask its member-societies to share this information so that the NFCA can match up events with dates when the member of Congress typically is in his/her state (senators) or district (representatives).

Because the NFCA already has the names and contact information of congressional schedulers through CapWiz, it will not be difficult for the NFCA to extend, in the name of a member-society, an invitation to a member of Congress to attend, participate in or speak at a lodge function or event. The NFCA also will be able to follow up on these invitations. While such invitations compete for time on a senator's or representative's busy schedule, all it takes is one or two acceptances by that senator or representative to see and understand fraternalism.

NFCA headquarters staff will execute the Fraternalists in Action program with board oversight and input from fraternal communicators. The NFCA also will coordinate all media for the program, including coordinating press contacts with the member-societies' home offices, as well as with congressional offices, drafting and distributing press releases to local and/or national media, posting information prominently on the NFCA website, publishing stories in Fraternal Advantage, arranging for a photographer for photos with the members of Congress, creating a quarterly report/newsletter on the Fraternal MVPs for that quarter, and any other media coordination that is necessary.

"The Fraternalists in Action Program is ongoing, establishes a fraternal presence on Capitol Hill, recognizes fraternal accomplishment and, best of all, has a negligible impact on the 2006 budget," said NFCA President and CEO Frederick H. Grubbe.

Every month, five constituent fraternalists will meet with their respective members of Congress (two senators, district representative and home office district representative). Meanwhile, back in the states and individual congressional districts, other members of Congress will be invited to attend fraternal events.

"The message being conveyed is consistent and uniform," said NFCA Chair of the Board Michael J. Wade. "Thus, the board's objective of complementing our Washington, D.C., lobbying efforts is accomplished with the implementation of the Fraternalists in Action program. It personalizes modern fraternalism for members of Congress by putting a name and a face to what we previously described to them, and it creates public awareness of fraternal benefit societies and individual fraternalists."

Specific information on the Fraternalists in Action program, including Fraternal MVP qualifications and program requirements, will be sent to all member-societies this month, as well as posted on the NFCA website, www.nfcanet.org.

"The NFCA's clear, No. 1 priority is to establish a public awareness presence in Washington, D.C., that engages and educates members of Congress and their staff members," Mr. Wade said. "Therefore, I call on all member-societies to participate in this exciting new program. As we continue to defend our 501(c) (8) tax exemption, we need to keep fraternalism and fraternalists in front of our federal and state legislators."

Initially, the NFCA intended to hire a public relations firm to help create a fraternal presence in Washington. However, after reviewing a number of proposals with varying programmatic elements, the board concluded that the NFCA should create and administer a national fraternal recognition program versus hiring an outside firm.

"Bringing this program in-house allows the NFCA to develop and control the message on behalf of its member-societies," Mr. Grubbe said. "Further, it eliminates the need to educate a public relations firm about fraternalism and fraternal benefit societies. Eliminating the learning curve allows us to implement the program quickly, without any hidden costs or program surprises."

The 120-year-old NFCA unites 76 not-for-profit fraternal benefit societies operating in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. The association represents almost 10 million people in 36,000 local chapters, making it one of the continent's largest member networks. Among its members is the Ukrainian National Association.

Fraternal benefit societies provide their members with leadership, social, educational, spiritual, patriotic, scholarship, financial and volunteer-service opportunities. Combined, the NFCA's member-societies maintain more than $315 billion of life insurance in force and, in 2004 alone, contributed almost $390 million to charitable and fraternal programs. In addition, fraternalists volunteered approximately 91.5 million hours toward community-service projects during that same period.

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