PEOPLE Raises Bar for Next Convention
By Jimmie Turner
Delegates and members in town for the Convention went above and beyond the call of duty when they volunteered to raise money for a worthy cause: AFSCME's PEOPLE Program.
Their combined efforts at Convention 2000 rang up more than $131,000, which easily surpassed all previous records. That money will be used to help AFSCME level the playing field in political battles, where success has a positive impact on working families.
When the PEOPLE staff needed to sell tickets to Convention-goers for a chance to win Pentium 3 computers, it was numerous volunteers who circulated among the masses for support. Two of the volunteers who sold the winning tickets for the computers — Veda Rugola, Ohio Association of Public School Employees/AFSCME Local 4, and Jerry LaPoint, AFSCME retiree from Wisconsin Council 40 — donated their prize money back to PEOPLE.
Others raised funds by participating in the Fun Run. On an overcast, drizzly morning, 189 people from 38 locals, councils and affiliates trekked around a three-mile course at Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. Running, walking, and in some cases wheeling, the contestants raised $21,625; that's $4,000 more than produced by the 1998 Fun Run in Hawaii.
Iron man Gordon Bowman of Local 793 (Washington Council 28) was the top male finisher — again — with a time 17:19. He's won four of the last five Fun Runs; he didn't win in San Diego in 1994 because he wasn't there. "The run is secondary. The idea is to raise money for political action, which I feel very strong about," says Bowman, who's been running for 30 years. "But I was all business in this event. I really wanted to try and win one more time."
John Emswiler, Local 2421 (Pennsylvania Council 13); and Ken Kovacs, Local 755 (Ohio Council 8), finished second and third, respectively.
Sue Thompson, Local 25 (Michigan Council 25), led the women's pack in 23:09. "I think it's extremely crucial to raise money for PEOPLE," she says. "We have important elections coming up in 2000, and we certainly need all the money we can get to help anybody who's out there to support our causes."
Darleen Mostellar, Local 2150 (Pennsylvania Council 87); and Yolanda Pumarejo, Local 371 (New York City DC 37), ran second and third, respectively.
Ken Allen, Local 3327 (Oregon Council 75), raised the most money: $2,047. "This is the first time that I've run," he says. "We've been doing a major PEOPLE campaign in Oregon, and I figured if I was asking my members to raise money, I ought to go out and raise some myself." Allen serves as the council's executive director and attended the Convention as a delegate from Local 3327.
Patricia Moss, Local 2681 (Delaware Council 8), ranked second in money raised with $1,273. Once again, special recognition went to the Women's Action Committee Relay Team from the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA)/ AFSCME Local 11, which raised $5,055. OCSEA also won the award for Best Represented Legislative District.
Last-place "honors" went to four members from Council 28: Diana Parkison and Vivian Roberts, Local 443; Cheri Garrett, Local 1299; and Joe Lesh, Local 1181. The oldest runner, for the second straight year, was Loneste Blackwell, 75, of Ohio Retiree Chapter 1184; the youngest was Charlie Mobley, 13, son of Marie Mobley, Local 3292 (Florida Council 79).
