At the 2008 CEA Representative Assembly (RA), local newsletter editors, former CEA President Daria Plummer, Second District Congressional Representative Joe Courtney, and Amity teacher Anastasia Kimball received special recognition.

When CEA President Phil Apruzzese opened the 160th CEA RA on Friday, May 9, one of his first actions was to recognize former CEA President Daria Plummer. Apruzzese presented Plummer with an engraved book clock to honor her nearly 40-year teaching career. Plummer, a South Windsor elementary teacher who served as CEA president from 1994 to 2000 is retiring in June.

Congressman Joe Courtney receives CEA Friend of Education Award

On Saturday, CEA bestowed its highest award, the Thomas P. Mondani CEA Friend of Education Award, to Joe Courtney, Connecticut’s Second Congressional District Representative.

The award is named in honor of the individual who served as CEA’s executive director from 1971 until his retirement in 1994. It is presented to individuals who have made positive contributions to public education.

Courtney, elected in a very close 2006 election in which he defeated a long-term Republican, has been a strong advocate for elementary and secondary education during his short tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“CEA is honoring him not only for his work in Congress but also for his years as a state legislator,” Apruzzese told delegates. “Throughout his political career, public education has been one of his top priorities. Since being elected to Congress, Joe has continued to be a staunch and articulate ally for teachers and their students.”

A member of the House Education and Labor committees, Courtney has co-sponsored nearly a dozen education bills. He has worked to advance many of CEA’s and NEA’s legislative priorities in Congress, from NCLB reauthorization to repealing the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).

Courtney also spearheaded the removal of a merit pay provision from the House Higher Education Act that allows highly qualified teachers and early childhood educators to be eligible for loan forgiveness. In addition, he supported the College Cost Reduction and Access Act that provided upfront tuition assistance to qualified undergraduate students who commit to teaching in public schools in high-poverty communities or high-need subject areas.

Amity teacher is Connecticut nominee for NEA award

The 2008 recipient of the John McCormack CEA/NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence was recognized on Friday and briefly spoke to delegates.

Anastasia Kimball, a high school English teacher at Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge (Regional School District 5), was recently selected as Connecticut’s nominee to compete for national honors -- and $25,000 -- with teachers from 49 other NEA state affiliates.

The CEA portion of the award is named after a longtime CEA staff member and former Bloomfield teacher John McCormack, who died in 2004 after a long battle with cancer. The award recognizes and promotes excellence in teaching and service to the profession.

As Connecticut’s nominee, Kimball will receive a cash honorarium of $2,000 from CEA. The national winner will be chosen by NEA in the fall.

Local newsletter editors honored

On Saturday, local Association newsletter editors were honored for their work with awards in the CEA internal newsletter competition.

Each year, CEA recognizes local Association newsletters that have been judged as excellent in their individual membership categories as well as one special award to honor the newsletter that earned the distinction of winning the award for “best overall newsletter” in the competition.

Newsletters competed within five categories that are based on membership size and overall score in the competition. The newsletters entries are judged by members of the CEA Public Relations Commission.

CEA’s most prestigious newsletter award, The Norman E. Delisle Award for Best Overall Newsletter, is named in honor of Norman Delisle, who was CEA Public Relations Director from 1956 until his tragic and untimely death in 1981. He was responsible for establishing this local newsletter competition in the 1970s and this award serves a permanent tribute that honors Norm Delisle’s commitment to helping local Associations produce effective newsletters.

In the judgment the CEA Public Relations Commission, the Stamford Education Association newsletter, SEA Link, received CEA’s highest newsletter award because of its professional looking design. Judges said the SEA Link was “well-laid out and easy to follow.” They were also impressed with the variety of articles and good visuals, especially the four-color photos. These are among the reasons why this newsletter earned the highest score and why commission members voted unanimously to honor the SEA Link, edited by David Sepulveda, as best overall newsletter in the state.

The following newsletters were honored with first place and honorable mention awards within their categories as well as two the competed for Best New Entry honors.

In Category 5, which is for local Associations with more than 450 members, the first place award went to the Enfield Teachers Association newsletter, etan, edited by Georgiann O’Connor. Judges said the newsletter is “well written and well laid out.”

This is the second consecutive year that Enfield has taken top honors in this category.

The next award in Category 5 went to the Fairfield Education Association newsletter FEAture. Judges noted the “good use of graphics” in the newsletter that is edited by Lisa Sherman.

In Category 4, which is for local Associations with 301 to 450 members, the Vernon Education Association newsletter, VEA United, is the first place winner. Judges noted that the newsletter “had some good information” for its readers. The co-editors are Brina Abrahams and Kate Bernardo.

Honorable mention in Category 4 went to the Pomperaug Perspective, produced by the Pomperaug Region 15 Education Association. Judges said this newsletter, edited by president Maureen Honan, has “nice graphics and photos.”

In Category 3, which is for local Associations with 76 to 150 members, the Wolcott Education Association newsletter WEA Focus was the first-place winner. The judges said this newsletter, edited by Debbie Nicol, is “compact and informative with effective use of color.”

The second award in Category 3 was an honorable mention presented to the Windsor Locks Teachers Association for its newsletter, WLTA Voice. Editor Sandra Zajac-Naylor spearheaded production of WLTA’s first newsletter in many years. Judges said the newsletter articles are “well-written, short, and to the point.”

Two newsletter entries were identified as first-time entries, making them eligible for the Best New Entry award. Again, overall score determined whether a newsletter received a first place or an honorable mention award. For 2008, the newsletter published by the Litchfield Education Association, LEA Roundup, edited by Conrod Sienkiewicz, was judged to be the Best New Entry. Judges said they liked the “consistent layout from issue to issue” as well as the cowboy theme approach to organizing the articles.

Honorable mention in the New Entry category went to the NEA Danbury News, published by NEA Danbury and edited by Cindy Mirochine. The judges said the newsletter is “very concise and easy to read.”