GRAFTON, Ontario – On September 24-25, members of the Lisovi Chorty (Forest Devils) fraternity of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization held their semi-annual grand council at the Ukrainian Plast Camp in Grafton, Ontario. The meeting was attended by 60 members from Toronto, Montreal, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Los Angeles and Lviv.
Lisovi Chorty originated in 1922 and today include about 275 members scattered worldwide – in Ukraine, Australia, Argentina, various countries in Europe, as well as the United States and Canada. The goal of the fraternity is to mentor and prepare youth to become future leaders of the Ukrainian community, both in Ukraine and the diaspora.
On Saturday, Lisovi Chorty had a chance to socialize, discuss Plast issues, listen to their leaders’ reports and recommendations, and formulate new action plans. Notable was the presentation of a statistical analysis regarding member participation in Plast activities, community organizations and professional involvement. The participants also discussed training new counselors and organizing canoeing, rock-climbing, bike-riding and ecology trips for younger scouts. Attention was also devoted to the current situation in eastern Ukraine and how to support anti-terrorist operation (ATO) fighters there.
After a day of lively discussions, the members held their traditional bonfire at which awards were presented, promotions announced and new members initiated. The bonfire program continued until morning with humorous anecdotes and lively singing.
On Sunday, the council discussed action plans for the next two years, adopted resolutions and elected a new leadership. The senior branch re-elected Eugene Duvalko, Roman Mushka, Volodymyr Piaseckyj and Michael Gadacz, while the younger branch chose Illya Mykytyn, Adrian Podpirka, Daniel Stepchuk and Victor Podpirka. The newly instated officers called for continued support and cooperation in implementing the fraternity’s proposed programs.