EDITORIAL: The UNA moves on (06/11/06)

EDITORIAL

The UNA moves on

This week's Weekly contains a wealth of materials about the just concluded 36th Convention of the Ukrainian National Association. Yes, it's a lot of material, but such conventions are held only once every four years and they are the highest decision-making body of the UNA, one of our community's most important institutions.

Last week's issue carried a succinct news story about the convention and who was elected to which office. This week, readers get all the details about how the convention went. Our intent: to let our subscribers - more than half of whom are UNA members - get a flavor of the convention and find out what was said and by whom. In addition, we strive to give UNA members a sense of what the delegates, who were elected to represent them at the convention, achieved and what their consensus was on the main issues confronting the UNA.

Clearly, the delegates did not always agree with UNA officers. Thus, they rejected several by-laws proposals, opting to give the UNA's Canadian operations another chance in view of the potential membership in that country and telling the UNA's officers that the board of advisers, instead of being downsized, should be better utilized. As regards Soyuzivka, delegates delivered passionate statements indicating just how important the UNA estate is to our community. And, in discussions and resolutions, the delegates also expressed their appreciation for the UNA's publications and the significance of their roles for the UNA and the community at large.

In addition, the delegates expressed their need to be better prepared for serious discussions at UNA conventions. That is why they want to see the minutes of the previous convention before the next convention convenes, and want proposed amendments to the UNA By-Laws to be published in advance, with full disclosure, i.e., who proposed what and why. As well, the delegates requested training and sales tools for branch secretaries and organizers to better equip them for enrolling new members - the key to the UNA's well-being.

The 36th Convention brought much change to the UNA if one looks at the people elected to the General Assembly. The six-member Executive Committee includes three returning officers and three new ones, including one neophyte and an auditor and an advisor who have moved up in the ranks. The Auditing Committee's composition is all new, with one newcomer to UNA office and two former advisors. Among the 11 advisors are six new faces and one advisor who was elected to her own four-year term after having served the remainder of a deceased advisor's term. Among them are a young branch secretary who channels her UNA efforts into helping Soyuzivka and a former Soyuzivka camper who cares deeply about the UNA thanks to decades of work by his parents, both extremely active branch officers. The latter, we should point out, was not even a delegate to the convention, but a most engaged observer. There were others, too, who are worthy of note, including young delegates who did not run for office but made valuable contributions to the 36th Convention.

With new blood, there is hope for new ideas and fresh beginnings. With experience, there is wisdom and knowledge of institutional history. Thus, the new General Assembly has the best of both worlds.

Newly re-elected President Stefan Kaczaraj's concluding words to the delegates at the 36th Convention, as he looked ahead to tackling the urgent tasks that lie ahead, were: "Let us be together for the next four years - I with you, and you with me."

To that we can add the sage words of the Rev. Hryhoriy Hrushka, the first editor-in-chief of Svoboda and founding father of the Ukrainian National Association: "Unity is a strength that is difficult to defeat."

We greet the new General Assembly and wish its members unity of purpose.

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