U.A.E.A. Chornomorska Sitch held their 100 Year Anniversary Gala on October 19, 2024 at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center in Whippany, NJ. The theme for the evening was “Cheers to 100 years”, in celebration of the organizations 100 years in existence (1924 – 2024).
The guests started arriving at 6pm and were literally given an OSCAR worthy “red carpet” entrance. The electric atmosphere was immediately felt as old friends and new started making their way into the building.
The festivities began with an elegant cocktail hour, which gave the opportunity for all to mingle and reminisce about old times and catch up on new ones. During this time, the guests were treated to a slide show displaying hundreds of SITCH related photos collected over the first 100 years. The slide show included pictures of the various sport teams, both past and current, numerous tournament events and fun sport camp pictures taken over the many years. At the same time, the guests also enjoyed some live musical entertainment by Walter Syzonenko, who once again displayed his exceptional accordian skills.
When cocktail hour concluded, guests were called into the main hall for the Gala dinner and Celebratory Program to begin. When all were seated, opening remarks were made by current SITCH president Hryts Serheev, welcoming everyone to this truly momentus event. After his introductory remarks, he asked everyone to stand and sing both the American and Ukrainian National Anthems. A special moment, especially listening to the 170+ guests singing our Ukrainian National hymn. Shortly thereafter, a moment of silence for those who are no longer with us was observed.
After the anthems, St. Johns Parish priest Fr. Stepan Bilyk provided a very nice speech, congratulating SITCH for their 100 year anniversary and highlighting how much he enjoys watching the youth, and adults, come into the UACCNJ to participate in the various sport and organizational events. Fr. Stepan then led all of us in prayer and gave thanks for the dinner all were about to receive.
While dinner was being served, Mr. Serheev began the celebratory program with a presentation on the 100 year history of SITCH, a task which must have been difficult to prepare considering the multitude of historical events that have taken place over the first 100 years. The presentation was well delivered, with photos and short videos complimenting Mr. Serheev’s comentary.
Mr. Serheev started by talking about the founding fathers and the formation of SITCH as an organization. He emphasized the great work and effort that they and all future board members and volunteers have provided during the first 100 years.
He described the formation of the early sport teams which included some non-traditional Ukrainian sports like baseball, bowling, table tennis, chess and golf.
He emphasized how the SITCH sport camps in the early 1970’s ignited enthusiasm and the formation of many youth teams in various sports including soccer, volleyball, swimming and tennis. At the same time, adult sport teams such as hockey and skiing were being formed and enjoyed great success over the years to come. He reminded us that Chess continued to be well represented with SITCH Grand Master chess member Orest Popovich, leading the way.
He further discussed the important role that USCAK had during this time period, providing the opportunity for all Ukrainian organizations to compete under one common banner. SITCH always realized the importance in participating in these USCAK tournaments and events, and Mr. Serheev detailed some of the accomplishments that many SITCH teams and athletes achieved over the years.
In conclusion, while his presentation was a great reminder of how much SITCH has accomplished in the first 100 years of existence, the need to focus the attention on the current challenges for the organization are just as important. At this time, Mr. Serheev proceeded with the introductions for the various SITCH sport heads who would provide their updates for their respective sports.
The first update was provided by Jarema Kochan, head of the Golf division. He started by stating that SITCH (in conjunction with the UACCNJ) continue to organize annual golf outings and that the most recent 2024 event was a great success with over 100 golfers (men and women) participating. He proudly explained how the proceeds from the last few golf outings have been dedicated to raising monies for humanitarian aid and for the children of Ukraine. He thanked the various sponsors, volunteers and participants who have made this fundraising effort a success. He concluded by mentioning a plan for SITCH to organize a spring event that will feature a more challenging and competitive format that will have a “Ryder Cup” feel.
The follow up presentation was prepared by Andri Brukh and he covered the recreation programs that are offered and organized by SITCH at the UACCNJ gymnasium. He discussed how successful these programs are from both a financial aspect and community building perspective. This informative discussion creative great interest among the guests who were pleasantly surprised with SITCH’s involvement and success in this endeavor.
Next up were Stephanie Burachinsky and Nick Prociuk who provided their update on SITCH sport camps and its success over the past few years. The 2 worked well together and provided a fun approach to their presentation. The presenters showed photos of campers from the past and challenged the guests to identify how many were in attendance that evening. When this mini challenge was done, they proceeded to highlight the accomplishments during recent camps that have been held at Vovcha Tropa in Chatham, NY. Various sports continue to be offered at the camps and volunteer coach’s continue to mold our next generation of athletes. They ended their presentation with a very nice video presentation, highlighting some of the more recent camp photos taken during the summer.
Mark Kochan was next and provided his update on volleyball. Mark proudly described the current rise in competitive play and is excited about the future of SITCH volleyball. He continued to update us regarding the number of tournaments that the members compete in and that the goal is to produce enough quality players to send several teams to the National Volleyball championships. He concluded by voicing optimism that a woman’s volleyball team will be organized this season, who will also compete and help expand the program.
Dan Holowaty followed and provided his update on the Soccer program. He described the recent expansion in Men’s soccer program during the past 3 years and that currently, there are 3 teams taking part in their respective league’s . First, the Men’s Open team play in one of the highest levels available in the area, competing in the UPSL (United Premier Soccer League). Second, an Over30 team has been created, featuring many players who, at one point, actually played for the Open team in the recent past. Third, in order to keep with the current competitive market for young quality players, he addressed the need to join forces with local club North Jersey FC. . As a result, a U-23 team was formed and this newly formed partnership has been a great success over the first 3 years.
Lastly, Mr. Holowaty was extremely proud to announce the purchase of an existing soccer field in Rockaway, NJ which will be the home of future sporting events for SITCH. He showed a picture of the existing field which should be available for Spring 2025. This news was met with great excitement throughout the audience. A photo of current soccer team members with the newly purchased field is below.
After Mr. Holowaty’s soccer presentation, several special recognitions and announcements were made. First, Dan Holowaty presented flowers along with great thanks to Zezia Zawadiwsky for her tremendous effort in putting the gala together. Second, he then thanked all the sponsors for their continued support and donations to the organization. Specific recognition and an honarary SITCH soccer jersey was presented to Roman Tabatchouk and his law firm. Next, Darka Vincent Twardowska (daughter of Omelan Twardowsky, who served as SITCH president for many years before his passing) accepted both a soccer and volleyball jerseys on behalf of Self Reliance Credit union. After accepting the award, Mrs. Vincent Twardowsky asked to say a few words and provided her sincere congratulations to SITCH and their 100 year anniversary. At which point she presented SITCH with yet another donation to the club from the Self Reliance FCU. This grateful gesture was met with a loud applause from the SITCH president and guests in attendance.
Lastly, with all the Sport updates and special recognitions now completed, it was time to present and name the All Century teams for volleyball and soccer.
Alex Hladky, prior to naming the All Century team, gave special recognition to and drew everyone’s attention towards 2 photo bulletin boards that were put together, honoring the many women volleyball players who played for SITCH over the many years. A recognition that is well deserved.
He then proceeded to name the All Century team for Mens volleyball. For illustrative purposes, a slide was shown for each player named, honoring them with some nice photos and description as to why they were selected for this great honor. SITCH is proud to present the All Century volleyball team below:
- Nestor Olesnycky
- Orest Fedash
- Eugene Stakhivthe
- Nestor Paslawsky
- Paul Hunczak
- Mike Zawadiwskyi
- Alexander Hladky
- Ihor Akinshyn
- Mark Kochan
The All Century Men’s soccer team was presented by Sitch President Hryts Serheev. He mentioned how difficult the selection process was because there were so many great soccer players over the years. Prior to the announcement, some brief video interviews were shown from SITCH soccer enthusiasts, giving their high praise to the All Century players selected. The All Century soccer team is shown below:
- Walter Bakun – Manager
- Nick Hordynsky – Manager
- Gene Chyzowych – Coach
- Mike Palivoda – Coach
- Peter Lisewycz – Goalie
- Steve Kasayanenko – Defense
- Andrew (A.J.) Panas – Defense
- Walter Tkacz – Defense
- Walter Kazdoba – Defense
- John Butenko – Midfield
- Walter Chyzowych – Midfield
- Andrew Bakun – Midfield
- Mike Farmiga – Forward
- Zenon Snylyk – Forward
- Petro Boretsky – Forward
While naming the All Century teams concluded the program for the evening, final thanks and congratulations were given to the committee, board members and volunteers who put together this Gala event. Photo of some of the committee members for the 100 Year Gala event is below. Special thanks for those not shown in the photo below went to Adia Hordynsky, Andrew Falocco, Mish Zawadiwsky, Marco Zawadiwsky, Mark Kochan and Bo Kucyna.
