EDITORIAL: The UNA's new General Assembly (07/02/06)

EDITORIAL

The UNA's new General Assembly

On July 1, the new General Assembly of the Ukrainian National Association officially takes office (ergo, the new listing of its members that appears on page 5).

A quick perusal of the list of the 20 executive officers, auditors and advisors elected at the recently concluded 36th Convention of the UNA reveals that the General Assembly members hail from various regions of the United States and Canada.

To be sure, there is a plurality from two states: New Jersey, where the UNA is headquartered, has six members, and neighboring New York state has four. However, other parts of the United States are represented, from north to south and east to west. Pennsylvania has two General Assembly members, while the states of Ohio, Connecticut, Washington, Florida and Illinois have one each.

On the Canadian side, there are representatives from three provinces: Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. It's a nice representation of Canadians from both the eastern half of the country and the prairie provinces.

Continuing our demographic analysis, we note that the new General Assembly encompasses both new and returning members. The Executive Committee includes three returning officers plus three new officers - one of whom was previously an auditor, one who was an advisor, and one who is a newcomer to UNA office. The Auditing Committee is all new, composed of one neophyte and two former advisors, while the advisors include six new faces plus five UNA veterans. It's a good mix of new ideas and experience.

Looking more closely at the profiles of the assembly members, we also find that among them are people of various generations. Three of them are in their 30s, one is in his 40s and seven are in their 50s. Nine are age 60 or above - three of them on the Executive Committee, one on the Auditing Committee and five among the advisors.

Reviewing the membership list still more closely, we find that the General Assembly members encompass both émigrés and those born in North America. Nine were born in Ukraine, seven in the United States, two in Germany, and one each in Poland and Canada. In addition, it should be pointed out that the émigrés hail from different waves of immigration, including the post-World War II group; those who emigrated from Poland and Ukraine before 1990; and those who arrived in Canada and the United States after Ukraine re-established its independence in 1991. Indeed, the list includes four members of the latest wave of immigration - a good representation of this crucial part of our community.

Missing from the list published in this week's issue are the names of the honorary members of the UNA General Assembly - those stalwarts who have served on the fraternal organization's assembly for a minimum of 20 years and who choose to remain active in an advisory capacity. Prior to the 36th Convention there were five honorary members, both Ukrainian-born and American-born; however, that number could change as former UNA officeholders have retired. The honorary members are the institutional memory of the UNA - those old-timers who know well the history of the organization, its trials and tribulations, its achievements, and the reasons behind historic decisions made and steps taken. Their experience can go a long way to guide the UNA's rookies.

Thus, the new UNA General Assembly is representative of the entire Ukrainian community. And that is as it should be, since UNA members on the branch level elected their delegates to the convention to represent them and their interests. Those delegates, in turn, elected officers, auditors and advisors who shared their visions of the UNA and its future. The UNA, then, is a true example of democracy in action.

The message from the above review should be clear to all: The Ukrainian National Association, one of our community's most important organizations, is open to all Ukrainians who care to join its ranks and become involved in its salutary work.

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