SURPRISED
HONOREE — John Ceilly proudly displays a plaque that adds his name to a list of
prior recipients of the PEF Division 304 annual Brotherhood Award. Ceilly is
flanked by Division 304 officers Phil Clayton and Mary Lou Vasilev.
Award goes to.... ‘Who is this guy?
By SHERRY HALBROOK
If you are a PEF member mobilizer or thinking of becoming one, you could hardly
find a better role model than Region 4 member John Ceilly.
That’s the opinion of his fellow members in PEF Division 304 at the Central New
York Developmental Disabilities Services Office based in Syracuse.
The division’s steward council chose Ceilly as the 2007 recipient of their
annual Brotherhood Award.
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and his support of the labor movement,
Division 304 established the award in 1989 to recognize a division member for
his “outstanding contribution to brotherhood and solidarity.”
The award, which was presented in a January 11 ceremony at the DDSO, took Ceilly
by surprise.
“I was sitting in the audience listening to them describe this year’s award
winner, and I kept wondering, ‘Who is this guy? It must be somebody I know,’”
Ceilly said. “When someone said, ‘It’s you!’ I couldn’t believe it.”
He’s over that initial shock and is very appreciative of the honor.
“I nominated John for the award because he is just an outstanding mobilizer,”
said Division 304 Council Leader Pat Smith. “Whenever I send him anything, he
calls me immediately if he has any questions. And he attends every division
meeting that he can.”
“This is the first time we have selected a member mobilizer to receive this
award,” said Division 304 Treasurer Mary Lou Vasilev. “We wanted to recognize
John both for his exemplary volunteer actions as a member mobilizer and for his
public service as a dedicated and caring professional.”
As a mobilizer, she said, Ceilly goes beyond simply forwarding messages from
PEF.
“John makes the effort to speak to each of his assigned co-workers
face-to-face,” Vasilev said.
Smith and Vasilev said Ceilly’s consistent efforts to keep the lines of
communication flowing among members and leaders boosts solidarity throughout
Division 304, which has members scattered over worksites in four counties.
Ceilly, a physical therapy assistant 2 at the Gateway Day Program in Syracuse,
“provides outstanding professional service directly to the consumers,” Vasilev
said, “and he is tremendously supportive and helpful to other staff.”
Ceilly said he enjoys being a member mobilizer.
“It’s kind of a fun thing,” he said, “because I know just about everyone here
and I enjoy the camaraderie with them.”
“We have been building a corps of outstanding and dedicated mobilizers
throughout PEF,” said PEF Director of Member Mobilization Margaret Messer. “It’s
good to see a division recognize one of its mobilizers for those efforts.”
The Communicator April
2007
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