AFSCME Retiree Leader Doris Clark Honored in Illinois
October 21, 2009
HONORED – Charles D. Johnson, director of the Illinois Department on Aging, inducts Doris Clark, former Council 31 retiree chapter president – and former chair of the International’s Retiree Council –into the Senior Hall of Fame. (Photo credit: Randy J. Squires/Illinois Department on Aging)
Doris Clark, a 94-year-old advocate for the elderly who served as president of AFSCME’s retirees chapter in Illinois and also chaired the AFSCME International Retiree Council, has been inducted into the Illinois Department on Aging Senior Hall of Fame.
Clark, whose activism within AFSCME Council 31 blossomed after she retired as an Illinois state employee nearly two decades ago, was one of four persons entered this year into the department’s “Hall of Fame.” It was created to honor Illinois citizens age 65 or older who stand out in one of four areas: community service, education, performance and/or graphic arts and the labor force. Clark was chosen for the last category.
In her nomination letter, Virginia Yates, current president of AFSCME Retiree Chapter 31, which Clark helped found, described how Clark fought for financial assistance, home care and more affordable energy for lower income seniors.
Clark’s efforts to support the rights of the elderly made her a well-known figure among state and federal lawmakers, Council 31 Retiree Coordinator Maria Britton noted in the nomination form she submitted on Clark’s behalf. “It was amazing to many how this petite 5-foot grandmother can turn quickly into a pit bull if they don’t stand on the right side of issues important to older Illinoians,” she wrote.
Council 31 Exec. Director Henry Bayer added: “The passion and dedication that Doris has brought to improving the lives of seniors is an inspiration to us all.”
Steve Regenstreif, national director of the AFSCME Retirees, wrote in his nomination letter that during Clark’s tenure as vice chair and former chair of the International’s Retiree Council, “national retiree membership grew dramatically – from less than 100,000 to our current roster of nearly 250,000 retiree members. Without Doris’s leadership and commitment, we might never have reached such a milestone.”
Clark, a resident of Jacksonville, also was honored in 2003 with the Milton Cohen Award from Citizen Action/Illinois. The annual prize, named in memory of one of the state’s most respected civic activists, honors community leaders who carry on his “vision and integrity.”
In 2008, after stepping down as president of her council’s retiree chapter (a post she held for more than 15 years), Clark was named its first official “President Emeritus.”
In presenting the latest honors to Clark and the three other Hall of Fame inductees, Illinois Department on Aging Director Charles D. Johnson said: “They are an example that we can each do something to improve our communities.”
