UNA Forum

New Jersey District Committee holds annual meeting at UNA Home Office

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PARSIPPANY, N.J. – The New Jersey District Committee of the Ukrainian National Association held its annual meeting here at the UNA Home Office on Saturday, April 2. Representatives of UNA Branches 37, 42, 76, 133, 171, 269, 287 and 385 were in attendance. After lunch was served, District Chairman Oksana Stanko opened the proceedings by welcoming all to the meeting. Meeting participants voted a presidium consisting of Michael Koziupa as chairman and Stephan Welhasch as secretary. The UNA Executive Committee was represented by UNA First Vice-President Koziupa and Treasurer Roma Lisovich.

UNA Forum

UNA advisors accept Peace Light to share in Florida and California

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KERHONKSON, N.Y. – Two members of the UNA General Assembly who had traveled great distances to attend its annual meeting, Luba Poniatyszyn Keske from California and Olya Czerkas from Florida, accepted the flame from the Bethlehem Peace Light that had been brought to Kerhonkson, N.Y., by local members of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization. These Plast members and others had traveled to JFK International Airport, where the light was flown from Austria. The two UNA advisors accepted the Peace Light from the Rev. Dr. Ivan Kaszczak, pastor of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church, after Sunday liturgy on December 13, 2015. Every year, Austrian scouts light a lantern from the eternal flame that burns in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, and bring it to Vienna; scouts then share the light – a symbol of peace, hope and love with people around the globe. Plast scouts are among those who share the Bethlehem Peace Light with others in their communities.

UNA Forum

UNA General Assembly holds 2015 annual meeting

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Marked growth reported in assets, income

KERHONKSON, N.Y. – The Ukrainian National Association’s General Assembly convened its first regular annual meeting since the UNA convention of 2014 at the Soyuzivka Heritage Center on Friday through Sunday, December 11-13. The General Assembly, which is the highest decision-making body of the UNA between its quadrennial conventions, reviewed the fraternal benefit society’s activity for the past year and adopted a plan of action for 2016. The weekend’s sessions were marked by good news about the UNA’s progress during 2015, including a significant increase in assets, which in the first nine months of the year topped $192 million and are expected to reach $200 million by year’s end. Reports were delivered by the three full-time executive officers of the UNA: President Stefan Kaczaraj, National Secretary Christine Kozak and Treasurer Roma Lisovich. All other General Assembly members – executive officers, advisors and auditors – as well as the editor-in-chief of the UNA’s official publications, Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly, had the opportunity to deliver addenda to their written reports.

UNA Forum

New Jersey District Committee convenes fall organizing meeting

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PARSIPPANY, N.J. – The New Jersey District Committee of the Ukrainian National Association held its fall organizing meeting here at the UNA Home Office on November 20. The meeting was conducted by District Chair Oksana Stanko. Representatives of the following UNA branches attended: 25, 37, 42, 133, 171, 269 and 287. The main topic of discussion was enrolling new members into the UNA, and the main speaker at the meeting was National Secretary Christine E. Kozak, who addressed the status of the UNA’s organizing campaign and changes to the UNA’s annuity products. Ms. Kozak reported that insurance sales are lethargic and that UNA activists need to increase their efforts to enroll members.

Holodomor

Over 5,000 witness dedication of Holodomor Memorial in Washington

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WASHINGTON – Thousands of Ukrainians from across the United States traveled to Washington for the dedication and blessing of the long-awaited Holodomor Memorial on Saturday, November 7. They came on charter buses, in private cars and via all modes of public transportation from Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and beyond, including Canada, to bear witness to a genocide long concealed from the world: the Holodomor that killed millions of Ukrainians in 1932-1933 on the orders of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. “Famine-Genocide in Ukraine. In memory of the millions of innocent victims of a man-made famine in Ukraine engineered and implemented by Stalin’s totalitarian regime.” That is the simple inscription on Washington’s newest memorial, a stunning work of art by architect/designer Larysa Kurylas called “Field of Wheat.”

The memorial was blessed by Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate, Patriarch Sviatoslav of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and Metropolitan Antony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. The blessing was viewed by the masses gathered at Columbus Circle near the capital’s historic Union Station, where a huge screen transmitted images of the religious rite. Before and after the memorial’s blessing, there were speeches at Columbus Circle, where dignitaries were seated on a raised platform and a jumbotron was erected to allow all to see the proceedings at the podium, as well as at the site of the Holodomor Memorial, which could not accommodate the huge number of attendees.

Community

Sen. Menendez honored as champion of Ukraine

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WHIPPANY, N.J. – Hailed as “Ukraine’s dedicated advocate in the Senate” and a “champion for freedom and democracy,” Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) was honored here on Saturday, May 2, at what was billed as a rally in support of Ukraine. The New Jersey democrat, sponsor of the Ukrainian Freedom Support Act of 2014, received a plaque from the Ukrainian National Association (UNA) and the Friend of UNIS Award from the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA). The UNA also presented the senator with a blue-and-yellow pysanka – the work of folk artist Stephanie Hryckowian. Organized by the UNA in conjunction with the UCCA, the midday event at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey featured a keynote address by Mr. Menendez, the state’s senior U.S. senator, who said his analysis of the situation in Ukraine is this: “There are many experts who would contend that the complexity of the geopolitics that led to the U.S.’s retreat from Europe created an opening for [Vladimir] Putin in Ukraine.” He added, “We all want a diplomatic solution, but I believe that this can only happen when Putin believes that the cost of continuing to ravage Ukraine is simply too high.”

The public meeting was opened and emceed by Yuriy Symczyk, the UNA’s fraternal coordinator, who noted: “Right now… there are Russian troops on Ukrainian soil. There is war in eastern Ukraine.

UNA Forum

New Jersey District Committee holds annual meeting at UNA Home Office

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PARSIPPANY, N.J. – The New Jersey District Committee of the Ukrainian National Association held its annual meeting here at the UNA Home Office on Friday, March 27. Representatives of UNA Branches 37, 42, 76, 133, 134, 155, 171, 269 and 287 were in attendance. The meeting was opened by District Chairman Yuriy Symczyk, who welcomed all to the meeting. Michael Koziupa, UNA first vice-president, was tapped as chair of the meeting, and Stephan Welhasch as secretary. The UNA Executive Committee was represented by National Secretary Christine E. Kozak and Treasurer Roma Lisovich.

Community

150 in Morristown protest against Gergiev

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MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Ukrainian Americans from northern New Jersey and points beyond gathered here on January 30 to protest the performance of Russian conductor Valery Gergiev at the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC). Some 150 people, according to police estimates, braved the bitter cold to voice their protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is staunchly supported by Mr. Gergiev, who was conducting the Mariinsky Orchestra that evening at a gala concert celebrating the 20th anniversary of the arts center. They also voiced displeasure that he was headlining a notable celebration in this community. The protest was organized by the Morris County branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America with the support of various Ukrainian organizations in the area. Many of those who arrived for the concert or were passing by the demonstration already knew what it was about thanks to a front-page story in the local newspaper, The Daily Record, on January 30, that was headlined “Ukrainians to protest pro-Putin conductor’s Morristown concert.” Michael Koziupa, president of the Morris County UCCA, told the newspaper: “When an orchestra leader supports the murder and displacement of hundreds of thousand of innocent people, he leaves himself open to protest.”
Two days earlier, a letter to the editor from a Morristown resident, labeled as “featured letter,” was published in that same newspaper.