THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM (04/09/06)

THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM

CONVENTION PRIMER: General Assembly, the UNA's highest body between conventions

As the Ukrainian National Association, its officers and members prepare for the organization's 36th Regular Convention, which will convene on Friday, May 26, at the Soyuzivka estate in Kerhonkson, N.Y., The Ukrainian Weekly is publishing a new series titled "Convention Primer" that will explain the UNA's goals, structure and operations.

As noted in the previous installment of this series, conventions are the highest decision-making body of the Ukrainian National Association. But, they meet only once every four years. What body, then, is the UNA's top decision-making body between conventions?

Answer: the General Assembly of the UNA, which was known as the Supreme Assembly until 1994. The General Assembly meets annually, except during the year of a regular UNA convention. During convention years the General Assembly will often hold special sessions.

The General Assembly is elected at the UNA's regular conventions. It consists of the UNA Executive Committee, the Auditing Committee and the Board of Advisors.

The Executive Committee includes the president, first vice-president, second vice-president, director for Canada, national secretary and treasurer. Of these six posts, only three - the president, national secretary and treasurer - are full-time paid positions at the UNA Home Office.

The Auditing Committee is composed of three members, one of whom is chairman. (The chairman, or a member of the committee designated by the chairman, may take part in meetings of the Executive Committee in an advisory capacity.)

The Board of Advisors comprises 11 members, at least one of whom, according to the UNA By-Laws, must be a Canadian member.

It should be noted that at the last UNA convention held in 2002, the size of the Auditing Committee was reduced from five to three members; and the number of advisors was reduced from 14 to 11. (The original proposal was to reduce the number of advisors to seven.) A proposal to reduce the size of the Executive Committee from four to six members - eliminating the positions of second vice-president and director for Canada - did not pass (that is, it did not receive the required two-thirds support of all the delegates at the convention).

Any UNA member in good standing who is age 21 or over and has been a member of the UNA for at least one year can be elected to the General Assembly.

In addition, the By-Laws stipulate that "no person shall be eligible to any office who believes in, advocates, teaches or practices, or is a member of any organization or group that believes in, advocates or teaches the overthrow by force or violence or subversion of the government of which he is a citizen."

As well, the by-laws state that the qualifications that are spelled out for convention delegates apply also to General Assembly members. Thus, "any member who at the time of the elections or at the time of his seating as such delegates is an officer of any other fraternal benefit life insurance organization or association or any branch thereof; or who solicits or sells life insurance for any insurance company; or who at any time, unjustifiably or maliciously institutes or causes to be instituted any suit, action or proceeding against the Ukrainian National Association either on his own behalf or on behalf of any other member, shall be ineligible."

The UNA General Assembly also has honorary members. These are members of the UNA who held office on the General Assembly for an aggregate of 20 years or more. Honorary members can take part in discussions at annual meetings of the assembly; at conventions they have all the rights of delegates, which means they have a right to vote. However, they do not have the right to be elected as delegates to the convention or to held office in the UNA. Honorary membership, if accepted, is valid for life.

* * *

It was in 1994 that the term "supreme" was eliminated from the UNA lexicon: thus, there was no longer a supreme president, or supreme auditors, or supreme advisors. The Supreme Assembly became the General Assembly.

Another amendment provided for the elimination of the post of supreme vice-presidentess (a title created in 1908 to ensure a seat for at least one woman on the UNA Executive Committee), creating instead the position of second vice-president; the position of supreme vice-president would henceforth be called first vice-president. These two changes, however, did not become effective until the elections at the 1998 convention.

Thus, Anya Dydyk-Petrenko occupies an interesting place in UNA history as she was elected in 1994 to the position of supreme vice-presidentess and in 1998 to the position of second vice-president.

An expression of thanks in memory of Eugene Iwanciw

To everyone who attended the viewing or the funeral for Eugene Iwanciw thank you. To everyone who sent flowers, cards, or mass cards thank you. To everyone who said a prayer or had a sorrowful thought, thank you. To the staff at the UNA who helped put his obituary together at a time when we couldn't, thank you. To everyone who made contributions to The Ukrainian Museum or the UNA Scholarship Fund, thank you. Eugene's love of knowledge and culture will live on. To everyone who touched Eugene's life and helped comfort us during this time, thank you.

Eugene touched our lives in very individual ways. His heart was full of love for his family, his friends, his Ukrainian heritage, his country and his dog Duke. He had a special place in his heart for children, and by his most recent tutoring project, he fulfilled the dream of passing on his knowledge.

He also had a great love of books. His home was filled with books from top to bottom. His knowledge came from those books; we will be donating them so that the knowledge will continue and come full circle.

If a friend or a family member needed a favor, Eugene didn't know the word "no." You might have gotten a lecture from him first, but he was always there to help in any way he could.

Eugene had a short life, but a very rich and rewarding one. He did more in his 53 years on this earth than most people do in a lifetime. Now, Eugene is with God and we must go on without him in our lives.

Eugene was a son, a brother, a brother-in-law and a friend. We'll miss him and, though our hearts are broken right now, the kindness that has been shown our family will help us begin the healing process.

Thank you.

The Iwanciw Family
Irene and Michael Brennan

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