Volume 45 Number 3
This year’s CCA WHO (We Honor Ours) Award winners include, from left, bottom row: Phyllis Hall, Long Beach City College; Michelle Grimes-Hillman, Mt. San Antonio College; May Akabogu-Collins, MiraCosta College; Linda Borla, United Faculty, NOCCCD; Karen Roberts, Long Beach CHI. Second row, from left: Ralph Dorre, College of the Desert; Anthony Eckhardt, Shasta College; Lynne Hawley, San Joaquin Delta College; David Brown, Southwestern College; Todd Davis, Solano College; Mike Smith, Victor Valley College. Third Row, from left: Terry Miles, Citrus College; Rick Boone, Coast College; Colin Young, Rio Hondo College; Leif Syrdahl, Kern College; Will Summers, So. Orange CCD. Not shown: Frances Beope, Imperial Valley College; Skip Beale, Mendocino College; Richard Randall, Merced College; Jane Haproff, Sierra College; and Pat Kraft-Chapman, West Hills College.
Workshops demonstrate benefits of unionism
CCA’s annual W.H.O. (We Honor Ours) ceremony proved to be a highlight of a spring conference that was also full of valuable trainings and networking opportunities for the more than 200 faculty in attendance at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas on April 24-25.
Twenty-one CCA chapter leaders were honored during a presentation of awards by CTA Secretary-Treasurer Gail M. Mendes. Among them were members who negotiated fair contracts for their members, helped raise the stature of part-time faculty on their campuses, and headed up campaigns to elect faculty-friendly trustees. Many of this year’s award winners were graduates of CCA’s Building Strong Locals Academy, which provides special leadership training to foster new chapter leaders.
Receiving the CTA State W.H.O. Award was CCA President Ron Norton Reel. Reel was saluted by former CCA President Carolyn Inmon and Secretary David Milroy who spoke of his achievements as a chapter president of the Mt. San Antonio College Faculty Association and as CCA President. Of his leadership, Inmon said, “He has built a legacy of unparalleled dedication to union ideals, higher education and student success.”
Presidential Awards Also honored with the newly created CCA Presidential Awards were Terri Whitt, a professor of nursing at Saddleback College who works globally and locally on humanitarian concerns; Dián Hasson, CTA board member for higher education, who had dedicated herself to representing the interests of faculty; and Chaumonde Porterfield-Pyatt, whose work as CTA-ABC Director representing higher education was instrumental in helping faculty-friendly trustees get elected. Both Hasson and Porterfield-Pyatt will be retiring from their positions this summer.
Throughout the weekend conference, participants engaged in professional development workshops that included: Running a Board of Trustees Election; Effective Local Association Communications; Improving chapter websites; retirement issues; building wall-to-wall unity; and legal issues.
Elections Delegates also elected a number of board members and CCA Officers. Both CCA officers, Secretary David Milroy and Treasurer Jim Weir, were re-elected to their seats. Also elected to seats on the board on Saturday were Director District B, Keith Law; Director District C (1), JoAnn Cataldo; and Director District C (2), Elizabeth Maloney.
Elected by acclamation to the board Friday evening were: Director District A, Jessica Morris; Director District D, Bradley Reynolds; Director District G, Luisa Howell; Director District H (2), Jim Newman; Director District L, Gaylla Finnell; Director Southern Part-Time, John Sullivan; Director Northern Part-Time, John Martin; and Director Ethnic Racial Minority, Phyllis Hall.