New Retiree Division officers seeking to energize retirees ALBANY — At the recent 29th Annual Retiree Delegates Meeting, CSEA Retirees chose three longtime activists to head the union’s Retiree Executive Committee. Judy Richards, Capital Region Retiree Local president and a longtime committee activist, is the new Retiree Executive Committee Chair. Charlotte Adkins, president of the Syracuse Area Retiree Local, will serve as the committee’s vice chair. Grace Eglin, president of the Fulton-Montgomery Retiree Local, is the committee’s new secretary. Richards, Adkins and Eglin are taking over leadership of the statewide committee from former Retiree Executive Committee officers Lavarne “Lee” Pound, Norma Condon and Naomi Kaplan. And the new committee officers are getting right to work. Richards, Adkins and Eglin want to improve communication and networking among retirees, as well as between retirees and active CSEA members. The committee leaders also want to expand retirees’ role in union activism. Getting active, staying involved “Retirees need to get more involved in union issues,” said Richards, a longtime president of the CSEA Empire State College Local before her retirement in 2001. “The issues facing CSEA members are also going to affect retirees and we need to be prepared and involved. We have CSEA’s new Retiree Executive Committee officers pose at the recent Retiree Delegates Meeting. From left are Retiree Executive Committee Chair Judy Richards, committee Vice Chair Charlotte Adkins and committee Secretary Grace Eglin. to be visible; we can’t just sit back and do nothing or retirees are going to be lost.” Adkins, who had served as president of the Oswego County Local for many years before retiring in 2009, is also committed to boosting CSEA retirees’ activism and visibility. “I do speak out on issues,” she said. “Being a union member, it’s in your blood and it doesn’t go away when you retire. I still want to help CSEA in any way possible.” Eglin, a Fulton County Local activist before retiring in 1988 and a longtime CSEA retiree activist, is also committed to improving communication and activism among retirees. “We want to work hard to keep retirees in touch with each other and keep them informed on the issues,” she said. Richards, Adkins and Eglin are also committed to ensuring that active CSEA members are more aware of the CSEA retiree locals. Largely due to strong support from CSEA Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan, CSEA retirees have had a larger presence at union statewide events in recent years. Richards said the Retiree Executive Committee leaders want to expand on that. “The more visible retirees are, the more powerful we are,” she said. — Janice Gavin ‘Lee’ Pound’s service recognized Lavarne “Lee” Pound, who served as the union’s Retiree Executive Committee Chair before recently stepping down, was presented with the 2013 Donald Webster Memorial Mission Achievement Award at the recent Retiree Delegates Meeting in Albany. CSEA Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan presented the award to Pound, who was honored for her 44 years of service to CSEA, including as a Rockland County Local activist, Rockland Retiree Local president and numerous other roles on all levels of the union. From left are Sullivan, Pound and CSEA Retiree Program Specialist Diane Sheldon. If you are considering retirement, CSEA urges you to join a CSEA Retiree Local. Ask your CSEA local president for more information (some locals will pay the first year of your Retiree dues, which is only $24). Visit https://www.cseany.org/csea-retiree-members to learn more. 8 The Work Force October 2013
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