John Weber is a true forefather of San Antonio Local 60. On May 14, John received his 75-year service pin along with an appreciation plaque at a special awards luncheon hosted by the Local 60 Retired Members Club.

A World War II veteran, John Weber was initiated into Local 60 in 1940. Starting with his first job with Wright Brothers Electrical, John also worked for Fisk Electric, UHR, Graham & Collins, Blessings and a few others.

As a member of Local 60, John held the office of president from 1967 to 1973 and the office of secretary for four years. He was also on the apprenticeship committee and a member of the AFL-CIO council. John would often stop by apprentice classes to encourage the young members to attend their union meetings. He firmly believed in his union.

In 1965, a young journeyman foreman, Richard Suggs, needed help running a three-story, 600-bed barrack job at Lackland Air Force Base, and John Weber was sent to mentor him. Richard stated "although John had been in the trade much longer than I, he respected my position on the job and was there for me in any capacity for which I needed him. He treated me as an equal. I am thankful that I had John as an example of how a real Brotherhood works. In the 50+ years that I have known him, John has not changed."

After 47 years, John hung up his hard hat in 1987 to enjoy retirement with his lovely wife of 69 happy years, Dorothy.

Sandy Rogers, Local 60 retiree
San Antonio

Upon reading my August 2015 Electrical Worker, the article on the front page, "Angola Prison Program Offers Skills, Redemption," caught my attention and imagination immediately. Please credit Judges Laurie White and Arthur Hunter along with Warden Cain for thinking outside the traditional "lock 'em and leave 'em" mentality that so dominates our archaic prison system in America today. Also, credit our brothers, sisters and union-minded employers, of which there are so few in Louisiana. A progressive program like Angola's could prove to be a model for many young people stuck in America's futile prison system. I hope this program proves itself a valuable rehabilitation tool that can put many young people back on the right path in life.

Doug Szabo, Local 68
retiree Denver

I host a radio show from Arkansas State University called "Blues Where You least Expect It" (featured in February 2011 Electrical Worker article, "Ark. Member Spins Blues-Inspired Tunes for College Radio"). It airs every Saturday night at 9 p.m. central at 91.9 FM and streams live at kasu.org. Local 1516 has supported and underwritten my show for the past eight years. Every season I write two or three thank-you shows supporting the IBEW in general and my local specifically. This is not your regular blues show. I highlight just how far the blues have influenced all other musical genres since. I do not play blues artists, but artists that are not known for the blues. On any given Saturday you will hear everything from Andy Griffith singing "How Long Blues" from 1959 to Megadeath covering Muddy Waters' "I Ain't Superstitious."

There must be a lot of musicians affiliated with the IBEW and I'm looking to highlight their music. While I get requests from my brothers and sisters to play their favorite songs, this time I would like to hear your music, with a few stipulations:

• It must be or have been commercially available, which includes digital downloads (whether it's free or not such as Reverbnation.com, or freemusicarchive.org or any of the pay per song websites).
  
  
• It must be radio friendly (watch the language).
  
  
• While the show covers blues it can be any sub-genre of blues/rock, country/blues, just to name a couple. If you are interested in this project please contact me at thatwasblues@yahoo.com.

Jim "The Generator Man" Drennen, Local 1516 member
Jonesboro, Ark.