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26 OUR LIFE • March-April 2024 ДІЯЛЬНІСТЬ ВІДДІЛІВ І ЧЛЕНКИНЬ • BRANCH & MEMBER NEWS Branch 17 celebrated its 70th anniversary on Saturday, May 20, 2023, at the Miami Shores Country Club with a gala lunch, silent auction, and live enter - tainment by our very own Soyu- zianky, Trio Maksymowich. Our honored guests included Father Andrii Romankiv and his wife Zoryana and our national president, Natalie Pawlenko. We were also honored with the pres- ence of several sisters from the other Florida UNWLA branches in Naples, Northport, and St. Pe- tersburg, along with friends and family from our greater South Florida community. Olha Sperkacz provided an overview of the early days of our branch, which officially began on February 17, 1952. The member - ship roster that year reads like a Who’s Who of the nascent Mi- ami Ukrainian community: Jean Kuchkudan, Anna Magala, Anna Nakonecznyj, Sonya Mykytka, Lucille Wizniak, and Maria Wen- glowskyj, among many others. Branch vice president Han- ya Maksymowich shared some of the many activities to which the branch has devoted its en- ergy since its early days. With 40 members strong, our branch helped create the Ukrainian-lan- guage library for the Ukrain - ian-American Club of Miami, sponsored students to attend the Ukrainian Institute at Har - vard, helped establish Miami’s Ukrainian Saturday School, and created the Veselka women’s choir, which performed at lo - cal observances of Ukrainian national holidays and events. Branch members held embroi - dery and pysanka demonstra- tions throughout the greater Miami area and sponsored an- nual fashion shows to showcase Ukrainian fashion and design, including hosting an annual Vy - shyvani Vechornytsi banquet and ball. One of our notable members founded the Eva Stasz- kiw Memorial Scholarship Fund, a bequest that continues giving Honoring the Past with an Eye to the Future: Miami’s Branch 17 Celebrates Milestone 70th Anniversary Patricia Krysa , Branch 17, Miami, FL Photo: K. Sperkacz Branch 17 group photo. to this day. The branch creat - ed an extensive doll exhibit at the annual City of Miami Inter - national Folk Festival, partici- pated faithfully in each annual Captive Nations Week event, and celebrated Ukrainian art with an exhibit at the Ukraini - an-American Club in honor of America’s bicentennial. Branch 17 also sponsored a local volun - teer theatrical group focused on Ukrainian folklore and tradition, a table at the renowned Miami Book Fair to raise awareness of Ukraine’s literary talent, and a youth art contest to honor Taras Shevchenko, among many oth - er notable projects. Our fore - bears sought every opportunity to bring Ukraine to the fore in Miami, which was no small feat amidst a burgeoning Hispanic and Caribbean population. Corresponding secretary Pa- tricia Krysa presented a brief biography of our branch patron - ess, Olena Teliha, a woman of awe-inspiring courage and pat -
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