aaus-list @ ukrainianstudies.org -- [aaus-list] Fwd: New Ukrainian Consulate in Warren, Michigan

[Robert De Lossa <radelo@earthlink.net>]

[from AMurha@aol.com]

MARCH 4, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


WHAT:   OPENING OF UKRAINIAN CONSULATE
WHEN:   MARCH 23, 2002, 6:30 PM
WHERE:  UKRAINIAN CULTURAL CENTER
                26601 RYAN RD, WARREN, MI 48091
FMI:    TEL.: 586.757.7910, FAX: 586-757-8684,
         E-MAIL: bpotapenko@earthlink.net

GOVERNMENT OF UKRAINE TO OPEN CONSULATE IN MICHIGAN
WITH GALA EVENT

On Saturday, March 23, 2002, at 6:30 PM the Government of Ukraine will
officially open its newly established Consulate in the State of Michigan
with a gala event at the Ukrainian Cultural Center (UCC) in Warren.

Attending the opening will be H. E. Konstyantyn Hryshchenko, Ambassador of
Ukraine to the United States and Dr. Borys Bazylevskyi, Consul General of
Ukraine in Chicago.  Invitees to the event include: Governor John Engler,
Lieutenant Governor Richard Posthumus, Secretary of State Candice Miller,
Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow,
Congressmen Sander Levin, Joe Knollenberg and David Bonior, former Governor
James Blanchard, State Senator Art Miller, State Representative Jennifer
Faunce, Mayors Kwame M. Kilpatrick and Mark Steenburgh and others.

The program will feature the internationally renowned Ukrainian Bandurist
Chorus, Oleh Mahlay, Artistic Director. The Bandurist Chorus is the most
famous Ukrainian cultural group in the world. It will perform songs from its
triumphant tour of Ukraine in 2001 during the celebration of the 10th
anniversary of the independence of Ukraine.

The Consulate of Ukraine in Michigan will be located in the Ukrainian
Cultural Center. Mr. Bohdan Fedorak has been designated Honorary Consul of
Ukraine in Michigan. Mr. Fedorak is President of the UCC and is a highly
respected Ukrainian-American leader and promoter of Ukrainian culture and
expanded economic ties between the State of Michigan and Ukraine.

The Consulate is charged with assisting Ukrainian citizens residing in
Michigan and with facilitating trade, cultural and academic programs and
exchanges between Ukraine and Michigan. Ukraine will now join the large
diplomatic corps located in Michigan, numbering 38 Consulates.

The Consulate will also serve as liaison between Ukraine and the large and
highly organized Ukrainian American community in Michigan. There are
approximately two hundred thousand Michiganians who trace their ancestral
heritage to Ukraine, including a significant number of new immigrants over
the last decade. Forty organizations serve the community, many of which are
based at the Ukrainian Cultural Center.

As noted by the Chairman of the Committee in Support of the Consulate of
Ukraine in Michigan, Mr. Borys Potapenko: "The officers and members of the
committee constitute the leadership of the Ukrainian American community. It
is our collective wish that Michigan, its officials and citizens share in
this joyous event. For, whether it be on the local, state or federal levels,
Michiganians have stood with the Ukrainian people in their centuries long
quest for independence and, since 1991, in the struggle to give tangible
substance to their hard won freedom. We look forward to working closely with
Honorary Consul Fedorak and his staff in fulfilling the Consulate's
mission."