CSEA’s 111th Annual Delegates Meeting

CSEA’s Golden Local Awards

Our Golden Local Awards recognizes those CSEA Locals who are celebrating 50 years since being chartered. This year we recognize and honor seven CSEA Locals for achieving this milestone anniversary!

• Local 276, New York State Police Troop F
• Local 635, SUNY Oneonta
• Local 698, NYS Dormitory Authority
• Local 622, Faculty Student Association at SUNY Oswego
• Local 625, PACES at SUNY Potsdam
• Local 637, SUNY Purchase
• Local 699, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation

CSEA’s Organizing Awards

The CSEA Statewide Membership Committee puts forth two awards at our ADM.  Both involve the hard work of growing CSEA – organizing and signing new members into the union.

The first of the two is the Nadra Floyd Award for Organizing.  This award for external organizing honors former CSEA Organizing Director Nadra Floyd and her commitment to organizing new members in our great union.  Nadra passed away in the fall of 2001 after a short time at CSEA.  Prior to her untimely passing, Nadra was working to rebuild the Organizing Department. This award is designed to recognize the efforts by a CSEA member or group of members who helped organize a new group of workers into our union.

The winner of the 2021 Nadra Floyd Award is Tomilyn “Lynne” Gamache, Arlington School District Unit,
Dutchess County Educational Local 867

The second Organizing award is the Membership Achievement Award. This award is for internal organizing. It recognizes a CSEA member or group of members for their work in signing up new employees or who make a significant contribution to converting non-members into members.

The winner of the 2021 Membership Achievement Award is the Victor Central School District Unit Executive Board, Ontario Co. Local 835, President Mark Rugaber, Vice President Lori Fuller, Secretary Josephine Drew, and Treasurer Heather Page.

The Danny Donohue Leadership Awards

In 1990, CSEA awarded our first Mission Achievement Awards, the union’s highest honor. These awards were established to honor those member activists who go above and beyond, exemplifying the virtues of CSEA’s Mission Statement: Honesty, Inclusiveness, Full Participation, Respect, Diversity, Open Communications, Accountability and Fiscal Responsibility.

Since the creation of these awards, CSEA has awarded 78 stellar union activists with Mission Achievement Awards.

In 2019, CSEA’s then Executive Vice President Mary Sullivan asked the CSEA Board of Directors to rename the award in honor of then-President Danny Donohue, in advance of his retirement to honor  his dedicated service in our union’s top office for 25 years. The motion passed unanimously, and this year we are proud to present our Third Annual Danny Donohue Leadership Awards. 

Every year at the Annual Delegates Meeting, CSEA presents these awards to one deserving awardee in each of our three divisions, the State Division, Local Government Division and Private Sector Division.

Nominated by our union staff, these individuals do the most and serve the best. 

The winners of the 2021 Danny Donohue Leadership Awards are:

Local Government – Monica Berkowitz, Nassau Educational Local 865

State Government – Faye Wilkie-Fields, Brooklyn DDSO Local 447

Private Sector – Lonnesa Reese, Van Duyn Center Local 778

The President’s Polar Cap Award

Every year since 2008, CSEA has been proud to partner with Special Olympics New York to support them and the great work they do for people living with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

More than 18,000 CSEA members are employed in the developmental disabilities field. Some activities, like Special Olympics, have become a way to focus on individual goals and accomplishments.

Many CSEA members have participated in Special Olympics’ Polar Plunges in every part of the state to help support the movement over the past twelve years, collectively raising well over $300,000 dollars over that time to help benefit the athletes of Special Olympics.

When we first started plunging, CSEA established the President’s Polar Cap Award to recognize the Region that raises the most money through their Polar Plunge efforts each year.

The winner of the 2021 President’s Polar Cap Award is CSEA Southern Region 3.

The PEOPLE Program Awards

During this year’s ADM, we will hand out two PEOPLE Program Awards. 

The first, PEOPLE Recruiter of the Year, recognizes the individual PEOPLE recruiter who signed up the most members to join the PEOPLE Program during the contest year.

The winner of the 2021 PEOPLE Recruiter of the Year is Karen Bright, Madison County Local 827.

Our second PEOPLE Award, the PEOPLE Cup, is presented annually to the Region that has recruited the most PEOPLE members during the contest year.

The winner of the 2021 PEOPLE Cup is Long Island Region 1
Jerry Laricchiuta, President
Barbara Homburger, PEOPLE Committee Chair