February 2018 • Vol. 36, Issue 2
THE
REPORTER
State Employees Association of North Carolina
Broome selected as SEANC's new executive director The SEANC Board of Governors and Executive Committee recently hired Robert Broome as SEANC’s newest executive director. His first day on the job was Jan. 1. Broome brings with him more than two decades of public affairs experience, including 15 years in government relations for trade associations. Most recently, he served as Director of Communications for the N.C. Department of Transportation before a brief stint as Interim Director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. “We feel confident that Robert is a man of integrity who will lead our organization into a new era,” SEANC President Stanley Drewery said. “Our hiring process was thorough, and Robert has the skills, drive and demeanor to lead
our staff as we confront the challenges facing state and local employees and retirees.” Through a process of evaluations and initial interviews that began in August, a committee of Executive Director Robert Broome (bottom row, third from left) with the SEANC Executive Committee. SEANC members sorted Prior to becoming a lobbyist, he was through more than 200 applicants a research analyst for the Tennessee for the position. The committee House of Representatives. He has also selected finalists to interview with the served as a political consultant to over 50 Executive Committee, which then campaigns in various capacities, including made a recommendation to the Board research, polling, fundraising, strategy of Governors to hire Broome. The and communications. board voted in favor of the hire at its He succeeded Mitch Leonard, who has November meeting. worked for the association for 42 years Broome has extensive experience in and has served as executive director for lobbying for the real estate industry in the last three years. North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.
Prison reforms the focus following deadliest year The deadliest year in the history of the state’s prison system has made swift reforms a priority for SEANC and lawmakers. Five prison workers lost their lives in 2017 in two separate attacks. In April, Sgt. Meggan Callahan was brutally murdered by an inmate while responding to a fire at Bertie Correctional. Then in October, a prison break attempt by four inmates at Pasquotank Correctional resulted in the murders of correctional
In This Issue 2 3 4-5 7 8
Executive Director's Message Public Policy Members in Action Member Benefits New Member Contest
officers Wendy Shannon and Justin Smith, maintenance mechanic Geoffrey Howe and Correction Enterprises manager Veronica Darden. Judge Reuben Young took over as the Chief Deputy Secretary of the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice in an interim capacity after David Guice stepped down following the attacks. Department of Public Safety (DPS) Secretary Erik Hooks also appointed SEANC President Stanley Drewery as a member of his newly formed Prison Reform Advisory Board. President Drewery has formed the SEANC Select Committee on Prison Reform (a group of SEANC members working in the corrections field). They have been tasked with making recommendations on reforms based on
ideas members submitted in December. “It’s important for workers at the prisons to have a voice in the reform efforts, since they are most directly affected,” said Drewery. “No one knows what needs to be changed better than the people who go behind the wall and put their lives at risk every day.” DPS has already announced some changes to the Inmate Disciplinary Policy and has taken steps to increase safety. SEANC will continue to press legislators and the Cooper Administration to make the necessary reforms and investments in our prisons to improve safety, such as increasing pay and enhancing benefits to help recruit and retain officers, making changes to policies and providing better equipment.