By SHERRY HALBROOK
PEF members responding to the recent poll of The Communicator readers gave the publication high marks, and so did the judges in two labor-journalism competitions this spring.

The PEF magazine received five regional awards in May from the Metro New York Labor Communications Council (MNYLCC) at its annual convention in New York City and is receiving three national awards in July from the American Federation of Teachers Communications Association (AFTCA) at its convention in Philadelphia.

The Metro NY competition was for material published in calendar 1999, while entries to the AFTCA contest were from the 1999-2000 school year.

“The Communicator staff works hard to report the news that matters to PEF members,” said PEF Public Relations Director Denyce Duncan Lacy. “It’s a great encouragement when our efforts are recognized by PEF members and by other labor journalists. The competition is intense and we are up against wonderful publications from many international and local unions that are far larger than PEF.”

Writing honored
An article about a day in the life of state parole officer Clarence Berry won First Place for feature writing in the Metro Communications Council competition and received an Award of Merit from the AFTCA.

Metro judges said the article, written by former PEF reporter-writer Kara E. Smith, gives “a gripping account of the dangers and risks inherent in this job.”

AFTCA gave First Place to a news story in the February 2000 issue by Lacy and PEF reporter-editor Sherry Halbrook about the governor’s attempts to thwart the massive January joint contract rally in Albany timed to coincide with his annual State of the State address to the Legislature.

An article in the February ’99 issue by Lacy that digs into the understaffing, program cuts and other policies that surrounded the murder of PEF member Judi Scanlon by a patient tied for Second Place in the Metro NY news-writing competition.

“While the commercial media headlines physical attacks and killings by mentally ill patients, The Communicator goes deeper, providing an analysis of how budget cuts and downsizing have cut care for patients and help for caseworkers in dangerous jobs,” the judges said.

Graphics, photos praised too
The cover of the February ’99 issue of The Communicator, which features a burning candle — part of PEF memorial services held throughout the state for Scanlon — against a blue background, won First Place for best use of graphics from Metro NY.

“A powerful image used simply without letting the type get in the way,” said the Metro NY judges of the cover designed by PEF graphic artist Mario Bruni.

The Metro NY judges also liked “the effective use of humor in ‘Turning up the heat’ — an article with photos and a cut-out “Pataki dollar” — which appeared in the July-August ’99 issue and spotlighted PEF members’ heated reaction to the meaningless zero raises which the governor offered them in April ’99. The package tied for third place in the Unique Performance category.

And a photo by former PEF intern Heath Fradkoff of PEF members at the union’s 1999 Pension and Contract Justice rally received honorable mention in AFTCA’s best-photo competition. The photo was on the cover of the June 1999 issue.

And The Communicator received honorable mention from Metro NY LCC for the magazine’s overall excellence.

Web site takes top honors in AFTCA competition
PEF web site rules

PEF’s web site was the apple of the judge’s eye in the American Federation of Teachers Communications Association (AFTCA) competition this year.

This was the second time PEF entered its web site in the competition and the union walked off with the top prize for web sites at the annual AFTCA awards banquet in Philadelphia on July 1.

The site is designed and maintained by PEF Membership Information Systems Director Angelo Santabarbara and PEF graphic artist Mario Bruni.

“This comprehensive, no-nonsense site serves its members well by being both easy-to-navigate and informative,” states the contest judge in his written comments about the winners.

“PEF maintains a comprehensive resource of information that is very relevant to its members. The content is fresh and easy to read online .... ” the judge continues.

“There is absolutely no doubt that PEF is working very hard to represent its members and provide them with the highest level of service. This is clear to anyone who visits the site,” he states.

The judge praised the “e-mail your legislators” feature, as well as the current news, contract and calendar sections of the site.

“There are multiple areas that engage the online visitor to get involved with their union,” the judge states.

While the site could be prettier, according to the judge, it is “as easy as possible to use from the very first visit. A user immediately gets a sense of the range of information available, and the left-hand navigation puts all of the site contents at one’s fingertips.”
The judge urges other unions to come to PEF’s site for ideas on ways to improve their own sites.

“Every AFT state and local affiliate should look at this site. I promise that you will come away with at least one idea to improve your online presence. Well done!”

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