International Leadership Conference Held in Lehighton, PA

By Paula Holoviak

Thirty-seven young professionals, university students and experienced community leaders gathered at the Ukrainian Homestead in Lehighton, Pennsylvania from March 8 through March 10, 2013 to participate in a leadership training conference. Jointly sponsored by the Organization for the Rebirth of Ukraine (ODVU) and the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada (UNF), the conference focused on the topic of leadership and organizational development in the non-profit sector.

ODVU welcomed UNF members to the Homestead resort on Friday night with a dinner and special program featuring the talents of folk musician David Matsinko. Mr. Matsinko gave a program of folk songs and folklore related to the anthracite [coal] mining heritage of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Saturday offered a full program of speakers. After a welcome by ODVU National President Alexander Prociuk, Taras Pidzamecky, Immediate Past National President of UNF and CEO and General Counsel of Ukrainian Credit Union Limited, gave a presentation entitled “Leadership through Good Stewardship.”

Next followed a presentation and discussion on volunteer development and building community ties delivered by Elissa Garofalo, President/Executive Director of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor which is located near the Homestead resort. Ms. Garofalo’s talk was then followed by a break-out session on organizational branding lead by Dr. Paula Holoviak, Associate Professor at Kutztown University.

During lunch, Andrij Dobriansky of the Ukrainian Congress Committee shared his experiences as an election observer in Odesa during the 2012 Parliamentary Elections in Ukraine.

Immediately following the luncheon, Natalie Witiuk, a consultant with KPMG’s People & Change management consulting practice in Toronto, presented ideas on the issue of managing organizational culture.

Roundtable discussions on accounting, ethics and accountability, and best practices for non-profit organizations were lead by Dan Cherkas, Chartered Accountant and Treasurer for UNF’s New Pathway Publishers, and Robert Diakow, Director of IT Services for the Regional Municipality of Niagara and National Vice-President of the UNF.

A highlight of the afternoon was a special wreath laying ceremony at the statue of Oleh Kandyba-Olzhych near the chapel at the Ukrainian Homestead. This statue is the only monument in the world dedicated to the memory of this great Ukrainian nationalist, scholar and poet. Bohdan Hasiuk gave a moving talk on the life and character of Olzhych during WWII and the related circumstances of his murder by the Nazi regime at Saschsenhausen concentration camp in 1944.

In addition to the professional seminars, the UNF was able to arrange under the auspices of the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko to transport the Vasile Avramenko exhibit to the Ukrainian Homestead for the weekend. On Saturday, Iryna Balan, the exhibitor curator and designer, gave an after dinner talk on the history of Ukrainian dance in Canada, and explained her ongoing research into the history of Ukrainian folk dancing in the United States.

On Sunday, the entire group of participants attended Divine Liturgy at St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church (Pokrova) in McAdoo, Pennsylvania, the third oldest Greek Catholic church in the United States. Rev. Monsignor James Melnic welcomed the group. The parish choir, under the direction of Julia Merenda, sang both the liturgy and a panakhyda on the one year anniversary of the death of Mykola Plawiuk, last President of the Ukrainian National Republic in Exile, former President of Ukrainian World Congress, former President of the UNF of Canada, and past President of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Monsignor Melnic also commemorated all past ODVU presidents, living and deceased during the Divine Liturgy.

After a luncheon sponsored by the newly formed ODVU Branch 7 Anthracite McAdoo chapter and the Ukrainian American Heritage Foundation of the Lower Anthracite Region, a wrap up and exchange of contact information ended the three day event.

The leadership conference is the first of many joint activities to be hosted by these two Ukrainian community organizations. In addition to the immensely important and useful informational sessions, the conference resulted in the formation of new partnerships among local non-profit organizations, area universities and the Ukrainian American community in Northeastern Pennsylvania. For more information on ODVU sponsored activities at the Ukrainian Homestead, please visit www.ukrhomestead.com

PHOTO

Wreath laying at O. Olzhych monument at the Ukrainian Homestead in Lehighton, PA by participants of joint UNF and ODVU International Leadership Conference