Secretary of the Year Awards Luncheon

The cocktail hour was in full swing. The piano player was playing softly and the room looked beautiful. White tablecloths, pink flowers and napkins were placed on the round tables. The dais was adorned with lovely centerpieces on either side of the UFT banner which hung from the podium. Everything was set for our very first hosting at 52 Broadway, UFT headquarters, for our annual event. And then the celebration began!

Bagpipers announced the grand entrance of the six awardees into the UFT Ballroom for the 19th annual School Secretary of the Year Awards Luncheon on Saturday, June 4. The Bagpipers were guests of Angela Nahas, Secretary of the Year from Manhattan, who plays the pipes herself. More than 200 guests, including family, friends, principals, assistant principals and colleagues of the award winners, UFT officers, chapter leaders, district representatives and guests from the Department of Education, joined in the gala celebration.

 Randi Weingarten, president of the UFT, paid tribute to the hard work and dedication exhibited by the secretaries and assured them that the union considered them professionals and valued their contribution in the schools. She presented the Goldie Colodny award for union service to Annette Carlucci, secretary and chapter leader at Dodge HS in the Bronx. Guest speaker, Eric Gioia, City Council member from Queens, recounted his days at PS 11 and IS 125 in Woodside and the wonderful secretaries who helped shape his childhood school experience. He maintains that every school should be a place where all workers are treated with respect and is crafting a survey of school secretaries and others to determine the extent of workplace harassment and unprofessional treatment in our schools.

Next, the five outstanding secretaries of the year were called to the podium to receive their awards from their respective UFT borough/district representatives: Linda Stiglitz from Staten Island, Gail Maryles from Queens, Angela Nahas from Manhattan, Barbara Schwartz from Brooklyn and Nilsa Sanchez from the Bronx. They took time to say thank you and to remark on their careers. Their stories were funny, sincere, touching — making the audience both laugh and cry. Each of the secretaries gave testimony to the fact that when members of a school community work as a team and treat one another with respect there can be no finer profession!

The day ended with a huge raffle, the proceeds of which help supply the School Secretary Tuition Reimbursement Fund. This year’s Tuition Reimbursement Award winners were also invited to the luncheon and Randi and Howard Solomon, director of the Grievance Department, presented them with $200 checks to help cover the cost of their mandated courses. The recipients were Elizabeth Stout, Jeanette Vazquez, Vivienne Fullerton, Dorothy Dobkowski, Michele Philippou, Melissa Pomerantz and Christine McCabe.

Congratulations to all of our award winners! Look for the nomination form for School Secretary of the Year 2005-06 early next school year. Maybe someone will nominate you!