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Our Life | Наше життя August | Серпень 2021 8 The XXXII Convention of the UNWLA took place in two virtual sessions: The Round Table was held on May 16 and the Plenary session on June 5, 2021. According to the amendments to the Bylaws adopted at the 2017 conven - tion, the XXXII convention should have taken place in Sep - tember 2020. However, due to Coronavirus restrictions on travel and gatherings, the convention was moved to June 2021. This too turned out to be too optimistic, and fearing we had no real end in sight on the Covid front, it was finally decided to hold the convention virtually in the June 2021 timeframe. Zoom evolved as a new technology that was already be - ing used by some Branches and Regional Councils as well as for all Executive Committee and National Board meet - ings. We wondered whether it could be used successfully for a much larger audience. Holding a virtual convention via Zoom was unchartered territory for the UNWLA and would take an awful lot of planning. How do you hold reg - istration? How do you condense 3-4 days of an in-person convention into a shorter timeframe? For how long can you hold the attention of delegates via a computer before they tune out? How do we enable delegate discussions without expanding the time of the convention? How do we conduct voting and ensure only delegates are voting? How do we coordinate presentations from people locat - ed across multiple geographic locations? The technical aspects alone seemed daunting. However, never underestimate the abilities and can-do attitude of the members of the UNWLA. With the profes - sional expertise of Vera Kushnir (Executive Committee Con - vention Liaison), XXXII Convention Committee Chair Halyna Henhalo (former president of the Philadelphia Regional Council and a member of Branch 128) along with mem - bers of the Convention Committee (Philadelphia Regional Council) were guided in the research and implementation of an online system for registration. We engaged technical guru Roman Vaskiv, who resolved all our technical issues and provided support during the two sessions of the con - vention. Many members of the Executive Committee and all the Standing Committee Chairs created videos of their presentations, which gave us the ability to better control the time allotted to the convention. The Convention Book committee was able to present the book to all registered convention attendees in virtual format in advance of the convention and took orders to provide the book in hard copy for those who purchased it in advance. From the feedback provided by delegates, the virtual con - vention was a success, and our members were pleased with how it was conducted. The first session, the Round Table, was organized by Nadia Nynka, 3rd Vice President for Public Relations, and Natalie Pawlenko, Officer-at- Nadia Nynka , UNWLA 1st Vice President Large. During this session each Standing Committee Chair gave a short report of her work since the last convention. All Round Table attendees had an opportunity to ask questions/raise issues. All Resolutions submitted prior to the Round Table as well as any new Resolutions raised during the Round Table were discussed, and decisions were made as to which should be advanced to the Ple - nary session for vote and approval. The Resolutions that were subsequently adopted at the Plenary session can be found in this issue of Our Life . The Plenary session opened with the UNWLA prayer, read by Lydia Jachnycky, 1st Vice President, and the singing of the Ukrainian, American, and UNWLA hymns by Oleksan - dra Verzole. Halyna Henhalo welcomed the delegates, members, and guests and introduced outgoing President Marianna Zajac, who later in the session was awarded the title of Honorary President. Presiding officers who were elected included: Convention Chair – Zenia Brozyna; Con - vention Vice Chair – Stefania Perrong; Convention Secre - taries – Iryna Buczkowski and Orysya Soroka. Our Finan - cial Administrator, Natalia Honcharenko, gave an excellent presentation of our income and expenses. Vera Kushnir, Financial Secretary, provided an overview of IRS rules and regulations for maintaining not-for-profit status and the financial obligations of members, Branches, and Region - al Councils to the organization. She also proposed an $8 increase in dues per member that Branches pay to the UNWLA and an $8 increase in Members-at-Large dues. The proposal was voted on and passed. Roma Shuhan, Audit Committee Chair, presented audit results that indi - cated no material issues in our financials. Other agenda topics included voting on amendments to the Bylaws and the adoption of Resolutions. Both the amendments and the Resolutions were unanimously accepted. Delegates also voted to bestow “Honored” as well as “Honorary” Memberships (the first is awarded to members, the latter to non-members) for exceptional ser - vice to the UNWLA. A list of those so honored is provided later in this issue. Certificates of Appreciation (Hramoty) were presented to Branches and Regional Councils that provided outstanding support for the UNWLA’s numer - ous projects and to members, Branches, and Regional Councils celebrating milestone anniversaries. The head of the Nominating Committee, Oksana Lodziuk Krywulych, presented the new slate of officers (see the detailed list in this issue of Our Life ). Following the election, Natalie Pawlenko, the newly elected President of the UNWLA, ad - dressed the delegates. She cited the organization’s many accomplishments during the pandemic year, saying “the pandemic has shown that no challenge can limit the work of the UNWLA,” and called for a redoubling of efforts as the UNWLA approaches its 100th anniversary. UNWLA XXXII National Convention “Spreading Our Wings”
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