[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 11838-11839]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 IN HONORING OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF PLAST, THE UKRAINIAN SCOUTING 
                              ORGANIZATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 19, 2012

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 100th anniversary 
of Plast, the Ukrainian Scouting Organization.

[[Page 11839]]

  Plast was founded in 1911 by Dr. Oleksandr Tysovsky, and it is based 
on the principles of scouting started by Lord Baden Powell in Great 
Britain.
  As a consequence of the country's absence of national independence 
through most of the 20th Century, Plast was forced to go underground 
when the occupying Soviet Union declared the organization illegal and 
banned its activities.
  However, following World War II, when many Ukrainians emigrated to 
various countries of the Free World, including the United States, the 
plastuny among the emigres formed Plast organizations in the countries 
of their settlement. This included incorporating ``Plast, Inc.'' in 
1950 in the state of Michigan.
  Additionally, after the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine in 
1991, Plast was re-constituted in Ukraine with the help of plastuny 
from the United States and other Free-World countries.
  Today, Plast is an international organization of Ukrainian youth 
which fosters personal development, leadership and teamwork, as well as 
a love of Ukrainian culture and history while also raising youth to be 
conscientious, responsible and valuable citizens of their communities 
at the local, national and international level. Former President of 
Ukraine, Victor Yushchenko, is an honorary plastun, and Liubomyr 
Cardinal Husar, a U.S. citizen and now Patriarch-emeritus of the 
Ukrainian Eastern Rite Catholic Church based in Ukraine is one of many 
distinguished plastuns.
  Currently, Plast has 23 branches coast to coast in the United States, 
and Plast will be celebrating its Centennial with a Jamboree in Ukraine 
August 10 to 24, with the official opening of the Jamboree Celebration 
on August 19th in the city of L'viv.
  As such, we should recognize August 19, 2012 as the Centennial Day of 
Plast, commend the Ukrainian Scouting Organization for its tremendous 
contributions, and celebrate the Centennial of Plast.

                          ____________________