The St. Andrew’s Men’s Club was officially formed as a Society under the Province of Alberta Societies Act in 1964. The application of incorporation under the Act was made on January 24th, 1964 and the Society was registered on February 11th, 1964. The St. Andrews Men’s Club was actually active informally as early as 1961 but the formal registration did not occur until 1964. The history of the Men’s Club paralleled the development of St. Andrew’s Parish. St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Orthodox Parish was in its infancy in the early 60’s and there was a need for “arms length” organizations to coordinate and provide personnel for broader range fund raising activities than was proper for the Parish itself to participate in. This was especially true of fund raising activities relative to “gaming”.
The first President of the St. Andrew’s Men’s Club was Raymond Faryna. The original “Subscribers” to the incorporation of the St. Andrew’s Men’s Club were the following:
- Russell Dzenick
- Casey Skakun
- Mike Sawchyn
- Gerry Slipchuk
- Russell Olekshy
- Eugene Sakowsky
These original “Subscribers” constituted the Board of Directors till such time as a Board of Directors could be elected at a duly convened first General Meeting. The first elected Board of Directors included the following persons:
- President: Eugene Sakowsky
- Vice-President: Russel Olekshy
- Secretary: Casey Skakun
- Treasurer: Orest Mulka
- Director: Gerald Cebryk
- Director: Walter Kohsman
- Director: Michael Seniak
Since the original incorporation of the Articles to the present the St. Andrew’s Men’s Club has functioned as a Society in accordance with those Articles.
From its inception the St. Andrew’s Men’s Club has had a dedicated and enthusiastic roster of volunteers who together have made a huge contribution to the development of the St. Andrew’s Parish and to the larger Ukrainian Orthodox Community. The nature of the fundraising and volunteer activities has changed over the years but currently the St. Andrew’s Men’s Club continues to provide significant contributions to the Community in accordance with the Objectives of the Society. Records of past activities and historical documents are available for viewing in the Archives of the St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Orthodox Sobor Parish.