The Ukrainian community of St Albans has reacted with an intense desire to take control of their future after a public meeting was called by the Association of Ukrainians in Victoria (AUV) on 29 September 2019. Over 70 people were present, and a dozen community members volunteered after this public meeting, to take part in talks to resurrect the St Albans Branch.
“We’ve had a great result in St Albans” said Slawko Kohut, President of the Association of Ukrainians in Victoria (AUV). Mr Kohut was also appointed Administrator by the AUV Board and led the public meeting and subsequent talks to an extremely positive outcome.
At these talks, four people put their hands up to create an interim management committee to lead community affairs towards an Annual General Meeting. These people include Luba Morrissy, Nick Angelowitsch, Aleksandra Harasemcuk and Katrina Protyniak. This group is representative of a cross-section of the local community and are well placed to regenerate collaboration in the St Albans area.
The St Albans Branch is quite active with a seniors group, an arts group, a social club, a local radio station and a host of cultural events in their calendar.
The Branch was placed under administration in early September after repeated requests for financial reports and membership lists were disregarded by the previous leadership. These reports are an annual regulatory requirement of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission and non-submission can have serious repercussions on status of the Association of Ukrainians in Victoria.
We wish the St Albans community every success in the coming months to form a permanent committee of management and move forward.