WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Orysia Paszczak Tracz, a well-known writer, translator, consultant and speaker on things Ukrainian, especially culture and ethnology, recently became the recipient of two major Ukrainian Canadian awards: the provincial Bulava Award in Manitoba and the national Shevchenko Medal.
On September 25, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Manitoba Provincial Council honored nine outstanding volunteers, including Ms. Tracz, and one community organization with the annual Bulava Award.
The award is dedicated to the celebration and acknowledgement of Manitobans who have volunteered their time, energy and expertise to enhance the Ukrainian Canadian community in Manitoba, ensuring it remains strong, vibrant and active for future generations. Ms. Tracz was recognized for “outstanding leadership in the Ukrainian community.”
On October 1, at the XXV triennial Congress of Ukrainian Canadians held in Regina, Saskatchewan, Ms. Tracz was one of 13 recipients of the Taras Shevchenko Medal at the congress banquet.
The medal is the highest form of recognition that can be granted by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress; it recognizes individuals of Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian descent, as well as institutions and organizations, for their outstanding national contribution towards the development of the Ukrainian Canadian community. Ms. Tracz was honored “for outstanding national contribution to the cultural and artistic development of the Ukrainian Canadian community.”
Ms. Tracz’s column “The Things We Do” appears regularly in The Ukrainian Weekly. She has translated 10 books from Ukrainian into English, and has written numerous articles for Canadian and American publications. Now retired from the University of Manitoba Libraries, she presents lectures at the McNally-Robinson Booksellers Community Classrooms in Winnipeg and leads an annual folk art and culture tour to Ukraine.