Delegates elect a new slate of officers at convention
By Jonathan owens SEANC Asst. Director of Communications
Delegates at the 31st Annual SEANC Convention elected a new slate of officers to lead the association in 2014-15. The new officers all ran on a platform of continuing SEANC’s current direction, including the effort to expose secrecy and waste in the state retirement system.
Wayne Fish of Maggie Valley was elected president of the association. Fish works as a correctional food service manager II at the Department of Public Safety with 16 years of state service. He is a graduate of Asheville-Buncombe Community College. He previously served as SEANC’s Employees Political Action Committee (EMPAC) Statewide Chairman.
“Wayne Fish has been living and breathing politics his entire life,” SEANC Executive Director Dana Cope said. “His leadership will guide our membership organization to greater accomplishments.”
Ross Hailey, a retired Department of Transportation engineer from Washington, was elected first vice president. Stanley Drewery, a retiree from both the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Safety from Grifton, was elected second vice president, and Gloria Evans, an administrative support specialist with the East Carolina University School of Medicine from Winterville, was elected general treasurer.
In addition, Sidney M. Sandy will continue to serve in a leadership role as Immediate Past President. The officers began their one-year terms on Oct. 1.
SEANC’s 2014-15 statewide officers are (from left) Past President Sidney M. Sandy, General Treasurer Gloria Evans, Second Vice President Stanley Drewery, First Vice President Ross Hailey and President Wayne Fish.
EMPAC also gains new leadership. Tony Smith of Morganton, a maintenance supervisor at Foothills Correctional Institution in Morganton and former SEANC president, was elected Statewide EMPAC Chairman.
Also during SEANC’s annual convention, members pledged more than $20,000 to the SEANC Scholarship Foundation in memory of Dr. Yolyndra Green of Charlotte. Dr. Green passed away this year and was an employee at Central Piedmont Community College and chairwoman of District 13.
Delegates also passed four bylaws amendments and voted on the top 10 policy platform objectives the association will prioritize in the 2015 General Assembly session.
Delegates also heard a presentation from generational humorist Meagan Johnson on effective ways to communicate with coworkers, peers, family members and anyone of different
Officers’ Priorities
The new officers ran on a platform calling for:
• Increased state employee and retiree compensation
• Increased transparency in the $90 billion state retirement system
• A continuation of SEANC’s fight to reduce excessive Wall Street money managers’ fees from the state retirement system.
generations. Afterwards, Member Action Coordinators Steve Lawson and La’Tuan Danns led an interactive exercise on reaching new members.
An emotional memorial presentation of members who passed in the last year started off the convention’s final day before both EMPAC and the Scholarship Foundation announced the winners of their sweepstakes. The convention concluded with the annual awards ceremony on Saturday night.
jowens@seanc.org, Twitter @jonbowens
PHOTO
The following are excerpts of SEANC President Wayne Fish’s acceptance speech after his swearing in as president at the 31st Annual SEANC Convention on Sept. 6.
Inever dreamed it would be possible that a mountain boy like me could become president of an organization as important and strong as SEANC.
I want to recognize and thank my parents, both of whom are here in the audience with me tonight.
I want to thank my district (District 2). It has been a real team effort. They have really groomed me for this job for a lot of years.
‘Humbled by your trust, and grateful’ Fish President’s Message
But leading the State Employees Association of North Carolina is not about me. No, leading this great association is about you, and about your coworkers and your fellow retirees and your families and all of our futures. I look forward to working with our executive director to maintain our careful, well thought out political strategy.
We are on the verge of true pension transparency reform and our struggle with the North Carolina Treasurer on this is
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By wayne Fish seanC President
being reported on around the nation. People are watching this closely and I’m afraid it won’t end well for Madame Treasurer if she doesn’t open up the record books and disclose those secret fees she keeps paying with our pension dollars. That’s our money, not hers!
We made some bold decisions at this convention, most significantly the decision to expand into local county and city worker sectors. We need to study closely how to proceed. I will be talking to the executive committee and staff about appointing a committee to look at how to best proceed in that arena.
In closing let me thank you. Each and every one of you makes SEANC the greatest organization I know. You humble me with your trust and I am grateful. God bless you all and have a good night!
wfish@seanc.org
toni davis, Editor-In-Chief
Jonathan owens, Managing Editor
alicia Miller, Associate Editor
Beth dew, Associate Editor
Matthew whittle, Associate Editor
State Employees Association of North Carolina 1621 Midtown Place • Raleigh, NC 27609 Telephone 919-833-6436, 800-222-2758
www.seanc.org
Advertising Policy
SEANC accepts advertising material from companies and persons seeking to communicate with SEANC members. Acceptance of this advertising does not indicate SEANC approval or endorsement of any representation that the message, product or service is as represented by the advertiser. SEANC accepts no responsibility and shall not be liable for any use of or reliance on any such information, product or service. SEANC is a private entity and is under no obligation to carry advertisements of any nature, political or otherwise, that may be viewed as contrary to the interests of the association and its membership.
SEANC eyes growth to increase members’ strength
By Matthew whittle SEANC Communications Specialist
Former SEANC President Sidney M. Sandy issued a challenge at the 31st Annual SEANC Convention this September — one repeated by Executive Director Dana Cope and the association’s incoming and outgoing officers.
It is a challenge to increase SEANC’s membership to 60,000 within the next year, adding a net total of 5,000 members before Sept. 30, 2015.
“SEANC’s strength is in its members,” said Sandy. The more members we have, the louder our voice will be at the legislature.”
To help SEANC reach its goal, President Wayne Fish, the Executive Committee and SEANC’s staff currently are working to finalize the details of an exciting new recruitment campaign, as well as a special training session for
members early next year.
The groundwork for this effort was laid at the convention with two presentations.
The first was by generational speaker and humorist Meagan Johnson who focused on the differences between generations — Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y/Millenials — and how those differences can be bridged in the workplace.
The second was by SEANC’s own Membership Action Coordinators Steve Lawson and La’Tuan Danns. Following Johnson, the pair discussed how SEANC members could take the lessons they had just learned and apply them to their efforts to recruit new members. They helped delegates think of ways to recruit new members of all ages and ways to make the association, on both the state and district levels, more visible and accessible to nonmembers.
Stay tuned to the Scoop and other
SEANC communications for more information on this campaign. In the meantime, the best way for you to become involved is to talk to your co-workers. Tell them about how SEANC fights for you, your pay raises and your employee rights, and about the discounts and competitive insurance programs offered through SEANC. Convince them to join and make all of our voices stronger.
mwhittle@seanc.org, Twitter @mwwhittle
The Reporter, USPS 009-852 (ISSN 1069 2142), is published nine times a year in the months of February, March, April, May, June, July, September, November and December for $2.50 per year, per member, by the State Employees Association of North Carolina, Inc., 1621 Midtown Place, Raleigh, NC 27609. Periodicals postage paid at Raleigh and additional offices.
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to: THE REPORTER 1621 Midtown Place Raleigh, NC 27609
McKinley has a knack for reaching new members
By Matthew whittle SEANC Communications Specialist
When it comes to recruiting new members to SEANC, James McKinley finds that an early straightforward approach works the best.
“I always speak to new employees right after they get on the job at the women’s prison,” said McKinley, a District 40 member and corrections officer at the North Carolina Correction Institute for Women. “They don’t know about SEANC at all. This is the first time many of them have ever heard of SEANC.”
But, he said, once he begins explaining to them what the association is and how it can benefit them, the new employees often begin paying close attention.
“I explain what SEANC does for them. I’m selling SEANC, but really SEANC sells itself,” McKinley said.
He said he usually begins a typical “sales pitch” by explaining what SEANC is not — that while it is similar to a union, it does not have collective bargaining power. But, he said, he then explains that the association lobbies the General Assembly, advocating on behalf of state employees for pay raises, better benefits and continued job protections.
“That, they pretty much understand,” he said.
He then explains to them that whether they realize it or not, as state employees, the politics in Raleigh have a direct impact on their jobs.
“After I welcome them to the state agency, I tell them, ‘There is a political side to your job,’” McKinley said. “You need someone who’s going to fight for you and, as state employees, someone who will represent you in front of the state legislature, and fight for you to receive higher pay raises and better benefits.”
And that, he tells them, is what SEANC does. He tells new employees that while they are welcome to go to the legislature themselves to help lobby, being a SEANC member doesn’t obligate them to. Rather, he stresses to new employees that what SEANC really needs from them is their membership.
“We need to arm (Executive Director) Dana (Cope) with the tools he needs, and that’s your membership,” he said. “The more members Dana has, the stronger he and SEANC are, and that, they understand.”
Then he tells new employees that giving SEANC the membership it needs to stand strong before the General Assembly and governor costs only $12 a month — $9 in SEANC dues and $3 in EMPAC contributions. However,
he also tells them how they can recoup that $12 if they choose to take advantage of the many discounts and insurance programs SEANC offers.
“So I show them what they get for their $12, and then I show them how their membership can be free,” McKinley said. “You give me the $12 and I’ll show you how to get that $12 back. And everyone understands free.”
Often, it’s a pitch that works, even with the high number of 20- to 30-year-olds being hired at the facility.
McKinley plans to continue to advocate for and recruit new members to SEANC as long as he can because once he learned what the association was, he became a believer in its mission and its results.
McKinley said he began at what was then called the Department of Corrections in 2003, but didn’t become a SEANC member until later in 2004.
“I never heard of SEANC my first year,” he said. “Then I heard something about lobby days, and I said, ‘Who are these people?’ I started looking into SEANC and found out what it was all about. I saw that I could use this organization because they lobby for me and make me better. I saw SEANC has my best interests at heart. I saw what they can do with my $12.
“I wondered, ‘How can I help them help me?’ And I said, ‘Membership. We need more members. If we have more members, we’re stronger.’ And so this is my way of helping SEANC help me.
“We can’t take it for granted that people know what SEANC is, but once you define what SEANC is, it really kind of sells itself.”
mwhittle@seanc.org, Twitter @mwwhittle
District 40 member James McKinley says younger state workers need to know what SEANC is and what it can do for them in order to join.
Randleman named EMPAC’s Legislator of the Year
By Jonathan owens SEANC Asst. Communications Director
The Employees Political Action Committee (EMPAC), a member-led subsidiary of SEANC, recently presented its Lisa B. Mitchell Legislator of the Year award to Sen. Shirley Randleman (R-Wilkes) for her role in advocating for transparency in the $90 billion state retirement system during the 2014 General Assembly session.
Then-Statewide EMPAC Chairman Wayne Fish presented the award at SEANC’s annual convention on Sept. 5.
Sen. Randleman, a longtime SEANC member and former Clerk of Court from Wilkes County, was on hand to accept the award. She told delegates that as a 34-year state employee, she didn’t need notes to make her speech.
“I know how you work in extreme conditions for lower than average pay,” she said to applause. “It is my number one priority to keep your jobs safe. I appreciate this award and rest assured that I will continue to advocate on your behalf.”
Sen. Randleman was instrumental in SEANC’s successful thwarting of an attempt to enshrine secrecy in the state retirement system during the 2014 General Assembly session after state Treasurer Janet Cowell pushed a bill to keep pension deals secret for up to 10 years after they are signed.
Randleman stood up for SEANC members at a Senate Pensions, Retirement and Aging Committee meeting in July, relating her own frustration when trying to secure information from the state Treasurer on real estate investments with
EMPAC SWEEPSTAKES
retirement funds. She never received the information from the treasurer. Because of her testimony, the bill was pulled from the agenda and received no further consideration.
She also sponsored a bill to expand benefits associated with the Bailey Settlement that is expected to be reintroduced in the 2015 session.
The award is named for Lisa B. Mitchell, an outstanding and dedicated state employee and SEANC member from Durham. She worked for North Carolina Central University and served EMPAC for several years. Lisa Mitchell passed away in 2008 after a courageous battle with breast cancer.
jowens@seanc.org, Twitter @jonbowens
PHOTO BY
N.C. Sen. Shirley Randleman (R-Wilkes) (right) enters the convention hall with SEANC members from her district, to accept the Lisa B. Mitchell Legislator of the Year award for her work in the 2014 legislative session.
Sandy gets a close shave for scholarship
By Matthew whittle SEANC Communications Specialist
Then-President Sidney M. Sandy chose the SEANC Scholarship Foundation as the Community Service Project for the 31st Annual SEANC Convention, and issued a challenge.
“Raise $12,000 and I’ll shave my beard,” he said. “Raise $18,000 and I’ll shave my head, too.”
By the end of the convention’s first day, the hair once on Sandy’s head lay in a pile on the floor, and the scholarship foundation was about $20,000 richer.
The offerings began with the District 13 delegation making a $600 donation in honor of their late chairwoman Dr. Yolyndra Green, to whose memory Sandy had dedicated the convention, and in whose name a scholarship will be given next year.
“Dr. Green was a great leader for SEANC and met challenges with grace, dignity and that infectious smile,” current District 13 Chairwoman Linda Colbert told delegates.
From there, district representatives approached the microphones and announced their donations. Then came the individual donations — and the challenges to donate.
District chairpersons challenged district chairpersons. Former statewide officers challenged other former statewide officers. Retirees challenged retirees. Longtime members gave $1 for every year they had been a member or attended convention — totaling 63 years and $63 for former president J.E. Skinner.
Staff also got in on the act, paced by Executive Director Dana Cope who gave $500 and former SEANC president and current lobbyist Chuck Stone and his wife, District 58 Chairwoman Marie Stone, who pledged a $1,000 dollar-fordollar match that helped put the total over the top.
Sandy jokingly threatened to close the floor as the totals grew ever higher. In the end, though, the delegates met his challenge and with the help of the hair stylists from JCPenney, Sandy sat down and the crowd cheered as his hair and beard — which had been his trademark since the early 1980s — fell away.
“I’m very proud of the delegates. This was all about the children,” Sandy said.
mwhittle@seanc.org, Twitter @mwwhittle
Bylaws changes voted on by convention delegates
Delegates voted on the following five bylaws amendments at the 31st Annual SEANC Convention on Sept. 5:
Proposed Amendment #1
Proposed change to Article III, Section 1.1
n This adds the phrase “any NC Local Government Retirement System” to the section in the Bylaws that spells out who can join SEANC, thereby broaden the recruiting base by including local government employees.
Proposed Amendment #2
Proposed change to Article III, Section 2
n This change prohibits SEANC and SEIU employees from voting, making or seconding motions, placing names in nomination, holding office and serving on committees to avoid possible conflicts-of-interest.
Proposed Amendment #3
Proposed change to Article III, Section 8
n This change would have restructured the way dues are rebated to districts. It would have resulted in a projected $71,000 shortfall in the SEANC operating budget.
Proposed Amendment #4
Proposed change to Article XIII, Section 1.2
n This change makes it clear that a bylaws amendment must be submitted to the State Bylaws Committee within 10 business days after approval at a district’s annual meeting and no later than July 15.
Proposed Amendment #5
Proposed change to Article XIII, Section N/A
n This is a procedural change clarifying what constitutes a majority of delegate votes at the annual convention.
PHOTO
Then SEANC President Sidney M. Sandy had his head and beard shaved after delegates raise more than $20,000 for the SEANC Scholarship Foundation.
2014 CONVENTION
Always recruiting, District 17 member Dan Efird signs up his legislator, N.C. Rep. Allen McNeill (R-Randolph), for a SEANC membership at the EMPAC Legislative Reception Friday night.
SEANC
President Sidney M. Sandy poses for a picture with EMPACendorsed N.C. House candidate Margie Storch at the EMPAC Legislative Reception on Friday night.
delegates
District 56 member Willie Pittman celebrates his birthday and challenges new members to sit beside him as
next year.
Gov. Pat McCrory stops for a picture with District 27 member Danielle Colbert-Lewis after McCrory addressed the convention on Friday.
District 40 member Roszena Lowe lights a candle in honor of those members who passed away in the last year.
PHOTO BY JONATHAN OWENS
PHOTO BY KACEE GORE
PHOTO BY KACEE GORE
PHOTO BY MATTHEW WHITTLE
PHOTO BY LYNN COTE
Executive Director Dana Cope and District 18 member Gwendolyn Pressley at the Saturday banquet.
45 member
District 3 Chairman Pat Reighard (center) accepts a $1,000 check for winning the video submission contest. At left is Bylaws Committee Chairman Jimmy Davis and at right is President Sidney M. Sandy. Visit youtube.com/seancmedia to view the winning entry.
Generational Humorist Meagan Johnson mingles among the delegates during her presentation on effective ways to communicate with coworkers, peers, family members and anyone else who is of a different generation.
District
Marcus Patterson speaks with N.C. Senator-elect Shelly Willingham (D-Edgecombe) at the EMPAC Legislative Reception on Friday night.
District 1 member Allen McNeill, one of only 26 Generation Y delegates (born after 1982), raises his hand during the presentation by Meagan Johnson.
District 39 Chairwoman Mary O’Neill announces a donation to the Scholarship Foundation as District 16 member Angela Edwards looks on during the community service portion of Thursday’s session.
District 20 members participate in the “How to Speak SEANC” training exercise on Thursday.
PHOTO BY MATTHEW WHITTLE
a night with the seanc stars
Chairman
Meeting and Convention Planner Alicia Miller (left) and Finance Director Rex Foster received the Darrell Arnold Awards for excellence as SEANC staff members.
Statewide EMPAC Chairman
Wayne Fish presented District 26 member Gloria Upperman (left) and District 12 member Alicia Baucom with EMPAC Chairman’s Awards.
President Sidney M. Sandy presented District 58 member Pam Hailey (left) and his secretary, District 38 member Betty Gautier, with the President’s Awards for their assistance.
District 24 Chairwoman Cathy Fields received the Distinguished Service Award for her many contributions to the association.
Member Discount Chairwoman
gave out awards to District 18 Chairwoman Sharron Patterson
place), District 7
Chairman Henry Belada (second place) and District 64 member T. Glen Allen
place) for their recruiting efforts in 2013-14.
District 16 Chairwoman Linda Moore was named SEANC’s Member of the Year.
District 6 Chairwoman Sonya Akbar (left) and District 12 Chairwoman Marilyn Martin received District Chairperson of the Year awards.
District 22 Chairwoman Deborah Harney (left), District 7
Henry Belada and District 6 Chairwoman Sonya Akbar accepted District of the Year awards.
PHOTO
PHOTO
Janet Bunch (left)
(first
(third
Quotes to Note
“Other institutional investors around the world could potentially follow CalPERS’ lead and finally dump these high-risk funds. Those who wait to cash in may find the money’s gone. That’s not a risk state workers are willing to take. It’s time to pull out of these investments now before the cart starts going downhill too fast for us to jump off.”
SEANC Executive Director Dana Cope in a Sept. 18 Forbes article titled, “North Carolina Workers Call On State Pension To Dump Up To $6 Billion In Hedge Funds To Avoid ‘Run On Bank’”
FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
GO FISH!
It is going to be a great year for SEANC.
District 26 Chairman Robert Garrett commenting on a post about the new officers elected at the convention.
This was wonderful, best one we have ever had! Such a honor to our coworkers! Thank you SEANC.
District 16 member Phyllis Comer commenting on photos from the remembrance presentation at the convention.
15 years after Hurricane Floyd, we remember efforts of DOT & other state e’ees to help NC recover. Thanks state e’ees for all you do.
A tweet from @seanc2008 on Sept. 18.
At the Greensboro SEANC convention with 900 of my closest friends. Good times! #changingtheworld
A tweet from @DanaDcope on Sept. 4 at the start of the 31st Annual SEANC Convention.
2015 Policy Platform Objectives
SEANC’s legislative priorities are determined by you, the members, at district meetings and the annual convention. Convention delegates rank the association’s policy platform objectives each year. Here are the Top 10 Policy Platform Objectives for 2015, as determined by 2014 convention delegates:
1. Request that the General Assembly fully fund employee salary compensation prior to considering other appropriations.
2. Seek restoration of the employer’s contribution to the Retirement System that will at least match the employees’ contribution.
3. Oppose legislation that would remove employees from the protections of State Human Resources Act.
4. SEANC will oppose privatization and downsizing of state government services.
5. Seek to establish a fully paid individual health care benefit equivalent to the current PPO 80/20 in place as of June 30, 2013, for all active qualified and retired state employees.
6. Seek a cost-of-living adjustment for retired state employees equal to any increase awarded to active state employees.
7. Seek policy or legislation to reduce generic co-pays in the State Health Plan to a maximum of $10.
8. Seek legislative change from the state treasurer serving as sole fiduciary of the retirement system.
9. Seek to have SEANC continue to protect dues deduction options from being deleted from the North Carolina state payroll.
10. SEANC supports continuation of a defined benefit retirement plan for current and future state retirees.
District 2
Ray Jeffers (D-Person)
District 14
George Cleveland (R-Onslow)
District 28
J.H. Langdon (R-Harnett)
District 40
Marilyn Avila (R-Wake)
District 55
Kim Hargett (D-Union)
2014 EMPAC Endorsements
Election Day is Nov. 4
N.C. House Candidates
District 3
Whit Whitley (D-Craven)
District 15
Phillip Shepard (R-Onslow)
District 30
Paul Luebke (D-Durham)
District 43
Elmer Floyd (D-Cumberland)
District 56
Verla Insko (D-Orange)
District 5
Howard
Hunter III (D-Hertford)
District 20
Betsy Jordan (D-New Hanover)
District 31
Mickey Michaux (D-Durham)
District 45
John Szoka (R-Cumberland)
District 60
Cecil Brockman (D-Guilford)
District 7
Bobbie Richardson (D-Franklin)
District 22
William Brisson (D-Bladen)
District 32
Nathan Baskerville (D-Vance)
District 46
Ken Waddell (D-Columbus)
District 62
Sal Leone (D-Guilford)
District 8
Bobi Gregory (D-Wilson)
District 23
Shelly Willingham (D-Edgecombe)
District 35
Brian Mountcastle (D-Wake)
District 48
Garland Pierce (D-Scotland)
District 63
Ian Baltutis (D-Alamance)
District 9
Uriah Ward (D-Pitt)
District 24
Jean FarmerButterfield (D-Wilson)
District 36
Nelson Dollar (R-Wake)
District 49
Kim Hanchette (D-Wake)
District 65
Bert Jones (R-Rockingham)
District 12
George Graham (D-Lenoir)
District 26
Leo Daughtry (R-Johnston)
District 38
Yvonne
Lewis Holley (D-Wake)
District 50
Graig Meyer (D-Orange)
District 67
Justin Burr (R-Stanley)
District 13
Pat McElraft (R-Carteret)
District 27
Michael Wray (D-Northampton)
District 39
Darren Jackson (D-Wake)
District 51
Brad Salmon (D-Harnett)
District 70
Pat Hurley (R-Randolph)
District 71
Evelyn Terry (D-Forsyth)
District 91
Bryan Holloway (R-Stokes)
District 75
Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth)
District 93
Jonathan Jordan (R-Ashe)
District 1
Stan White (D-Dare)
District 13
Jane Smith (D-Robeson)
District 30
Shirley Randleman (R-Wilkes)
District 82
Earle Schecter (D-Cabarrus)
District 108
John Torbett (R-Gaston)
N.C.
District 3
Erica
Smith-Ingram (D-Northampton)
District 14
Dan Blue (D-Wake)
District 33
Stan Bingham (R-Davidson)
District 83
Linda Johnson (R-Cabarrus)
District 111
Tim Moore (R-Cleveland)
District 4
Angela Bryant (D-Nash)
District 15
Tom Bradshaw (D-Wake)
District 39
Bob Rucho (R-Mecklenburg)
District 84
Rena Turner (R-Iredell)
District 112
Lisa Bralley (D-Rutherford)
District 87
Edgar Starnes (R-Catawba)
District 115
Nathan Ramsey (R-Buncombe)
Senate Candidates
District 5
Don Davis (D-Greene)
District 17
Tamara Barringer (R-Wake)
District 41
Latrice McRae (D-Mecklenburg)
District 6
Harry Brown (R-Onslow)
District 22
Mike Woodard (D-Durham)
District 46
Emily Church (D-Burke)
District 88
Margie Storch (D-Mecklenburg)
District 116
Brian Turner (D-Buncombe)
District 7
Louis Pate (R-Wayne)
District 23
Valerie Foushee (D-Orange)
District 48
Tom Apodaca (R-Henderson)
District 89
Mitch Setzer (R-Catawba)
District 118
Dean Hicks (D-Yancey)
District 9
Elizabeth Redenbaugh (D-New Hanover)
District 25
Gene McLaurin (D-Richmond)
District 49
Terry
Van Duyn (D-Buncombe)
District 10
Brent Jackson (R-Sampson)
District 26
Phil Berger (R-Rockingham)
District 50
Jane Hipps (D-Haywood)
2013 CONVENTION
2014-2015 SEANC BOARD
Executive Committee
President Wayne Fish
District 2
Maggie Valley Department of Public Safety
First Vice
President
Ross Hailey District 58
Washington Department of Transportation (retired)
Second Vice President
Stanley Drewery District 67
Grifton Department of Public Safety (retired)
Treasurer
Gloria Evans District 65
Winterville East Carolina University
Past President
Sidney M.
Sandy
District 11
Indian Trail Department of Transportation (retired)
Piedmont Region
Marilyn Martin
District 12
Salisbury Department of Public Safety
North Central Region
Gracie LeSane
District 27
Durham N.C. Central
University
South Central Region
Deborah Harney District 22
Cameron
Department of Public Safety
Eastern Region
Benny Brigman District 70 Pink Hill Department of Public Safety (retired)
Western Region
Barbara Leatherman
District 9
Newton Department of Transportation
Retiree Council
Chairman Spillman Grice
District 66 Kinston Department of Health and Human Services (retired)
Insurance Board of Trustees
Chairwoman
Doranna Anderson
District 47
Raleigh Department of Health and Human Services
President’s Assistants
Secretary
Betty Gautier
District 38
Benson Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Parliamentarian Roy McGalliard
District 5
Morganton
Western Piedmont Comm. College (retired)
Parliamentarian
Kim Martin
District 10
Concord
Department of Public Safety
District Chairpersons
District 1
Tony Rickman Asheville Department of Transportation
District 2
Dodie Collins
Asheville Administrative Office of the Courts (retired)
District 3
Pat Reighard Blowing Rock Appalachian State University (retired)
District 4
Jerry Bridges Polkville Department of Transportation (retired)
District 5
Sherry McCracken Morganton
Western Piedmont Comm. College
District 6
Sonya Akbar Morganton Department of Health and Human Services
District 7
Henry Belada Morganton Department of Health and Human Services (retired)
District 8
Keith Haynes Millers Creek Department of Transportation
District 10
James Hartley
Landis
Department of Public Safety
District 11
Kenny Brower Wadesboro Department of Transportation
District 13
Linda Colbert Charlotte Central Piedmont Comm. College
District 16
Willie Bailey Pfafftown
Winston-Salem State University (retired)
District 17
Sager Furr Blairs, Va. Department of Public Safety
District 18
Sharron Patterson
Rockingham Department of Public Safety
District 19
Martha Fowler Mebane
UNC-Chapel Hill (retired)
District 20
Jacquelyn
Chatman
Red Springs Department of Public Safety
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
District
District
Raleigh, NC
1621 Midtown Place Raleigh, NC 27609
On November 4, vote for EMPAC-endorsed candidates!
By Jonathan owens
SEANC Asst. Director of Communications
The State Employees Association of North Carolina announced in late August bipartisan endorsements for the Nov. 4 election. The endorsements are made through SEANC’s Employees Political Action Committee (EMPAC), which is a member-led subsidiary.
“State employees and retirees are proud to endorse these candidates who value public services and the people who provide them,” said SEANC President Wayne Fish, who was Statewide EMPAC Chairman at the time of the endorsements.
The 80 bipartisan endorsements in races for the General Assembly are a result of recommendations from SEANC members at the district level. Those recommendations were then confirmed by the statewide committee
in August. Endorsements were made in 56 House races and 24 Senate races.
EMPAC had a 78-percent success rate in endorsements for the May primary election. One of those endorsed candidates was Erica Smith-Ingram of Northampton County, who will face no opposition in her Senate District 3 general election race. She told delegates at the SEANC Convention on Sept. 6
n Turn to Pages 12-13 for a complete list of candidates endorsed by EMPAC for the general election in November.
that she would not have won without EMPAC’s support.
“You were the only PAC that endorsed me,” she said. “You were the snowball in my chance and the wing in my prayer. Because you stood by me, I am going to stand by you in the General Assembly. Thank you to my SEANC family.”
jowens@seanc.org, Twitter @jonbowens