1998
Founders’ Scholarships
July/August 1998 IBEW Journal
The IBEW Says, "Good
Work, and Keep It Up,"
1998 Founders’ Scholarship Winners
The IBEW began awarding scholarships in 1966 to
honor the dedicated wiremen and linemen who organized the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on November 28, 1891.
This is the 33rd year that the IBEW has awarded its Founders’
Scholarships. The Brotherhood encourages members in all industry
branches to participate in the scholarship program.
As many as 12 scholarships are awarded annually on a competitive
basis to members pursuing four-year degrees in fields that contribute
to the advancement and development of the electrical industry. The
award is for $200 per semester credit hour at any accredited college
or university in an approved field. The maximum distribution is
$24,000 over a period not to exceed eight years. One scholarship
is awarded for each group of 25 qualified candidates or major fraction
thereof.
The Selection Process
This year’s Scholarship Selection Committee consisted of Dr.
Mary Hufford, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress; Dennis
W. Rocheleau, manager, Union Relations and Corporate Industrial
Relations, General Electric Company; and Commander Joseph Fallone,
U.S. Navy. The committee selected the winners in May, after carefully
reviewing all submitted applications that fulfilled the scholarship
requirements. Eligibility for consideration required applicants
to submit letters of recommendation, academic transcripts, SAT or
ACT test scores, a personal rsum, and a 250- to 500-word essay
on "How the Founders’ Scholarship Will Benefit the Brotherhood
and the Electrical Industry."
 International
President J.J. Barry and International Secretary-Treasurer Edwin
D. Hill are pleased to announce the 1998 IBEW Founders’
Scholarship recipients. The scholarship program demonstrates the
continued importance President Barry and Secretary-Treasurer Hill
place on education. Education is vital in today’s workplace
and benefits both the individual and our organization. President
Barry has stated that education is a wise investment that prepares
workers for "the workplace of the 21st century—it’s
knowledge that will separate those with stable careers from those
who are at the mercy of the job market."
1998 Winners
Mary Salmon
 Mary
Salmon is a journeyman electrician and member of Local 52 of Newark,
New Jersey. Her educational goal is a bachelor’s degree in
electrical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Sister Salmon is employed by Nordling, Dean Electric Company Inc.,
for whom she has worked on various projects. Her local union activities
have included service on the Election Committee.
Sister Salmon highlighted the importance of education in developing
a work force capable of handling the challenges which will surely
confront all of us in the 21st century. "[Our] organization’s
strength, from the beginning, has been based on the supply of a
trained, knowledgeable and educated work force. ... There must be
a labor force prepared for the challenges of the 21st
century, and it must be the members who establish and maintain the
standards by which tradespeople will be furthering the development
of their craft. ... It is no longer a world of wire and pipe, but
of computers and space labs; and I know it will be IBEW
brothers and sisters doing the planning, designing and construction
of this new era. ... This scholarship is the future—the future
of our industry, our union and our members."
Barton W. Agate
 Barton
W. Agate plans to use his Founders’ Scholarship to fund his
quest for a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from
the University of Alberta. He is a journeyman inside wireman and
member of Local 424, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Often during his
employment he has performed in a supervisory capacity. His most
recent employer is Comstock Canada.
Brother Agate’s essay described the many problems organized
labor encounters in the province of Alberta: labor laws favoring
business with back-to-work provisions and easing the use of replacement
workers; a misinformed public which sees union workers as greedy
and bemoan the inconvenience caused by strikes; and establishment
of employer-created "unions of convenience," which interfere
with unions which truly represent their members.
He believes an important first step in overcoming such formidable
obstacles is "to create an educated management force, [which,]
through its union experience, knows profits are possible without
its getting rich off the back of labor. ... The Founders’ Scholarship
can provide union members with an education that will enable them
to tackle current problems with the required expertise and to rise
to a position where they have the decision-making power to make
enlightened changes."
Jeffrey W. Cain
 Jeffrey
W. Cain was sworn in as a member of Local 103, Boston, Massachusetts,
in July 1990. A journeyman inside wireman, he has worked for Assurance
Electric for the past six years. He plans to use his scholarship
to study for a bachelor’s degree in labor studies (with a concentration
in labor law) at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.
Brother Cain has been an active participant in many local union
activities since he became an apprentice. During his last three
years of apprenticeship training, he served successively as student
council recording secretary, vice president and president. Since
1993 Brother Cain has taken a COMET course; received his master’s
license; and served as a member of the Credit Committee of the Delta
Wye Federal Credit Union, Examining Board member, Political Action
Committee member and Industry 2000 Competitiveness Committee member.
In September 1996 he attended the IBEW Convention in Philadelphia
as a guest.
His extensive volunteer community service includes participating
in "NetDay Boston," the Prudential Stair Climb for Cystic
Fibrosis, the Walk for the Cure (Breast Cancer), Dollars Against
Diabetes, various food drives, and service at the Pine Street Inn
homeless shelter. In addition, he serves as a Massachusetts Democratic
State Convention delegate this year. He was honorably discharged
from the U.S. Coast Guard in 1989.
Brother Cain’s essay stressed the importance of education
to today’s working people, whose standard of living depends
on their educational experience. He intends to use his educational
opportunity to prepare himself to be a better spokesperson for the
IBEW and the electrical industry. As he says, "An
educated membership helps to bring about change in our working lives,
a change for the better. ... By furthering my education, I will
be better prepared to stand up for working people’s rights.
By educating myself, I will gain the knowledge and confidence to
bring decency to every worker. ... We need to try to reach a goal
of being as educated as the leaders of the business world. If we
don’t try, the Brotherhood, working families and the electrical
industry will suffer."
Richard Kernan
 Richard
Kernan is a journeyman inside wireman member of Local 313, Wilmington,
Delaware. He is currently employed by Diamond Electric Inc. of Dover,
Delaware, where he has served as a foreman. A bachelor’s degree
in computer science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County,
is his educational goal. Brother Kernan holds a Delaware master
general electrical license and, perhaps as evidence of his interest
in computer science, has accumulated extensive experience in wiring
computer networks and process control computers. He also serves
as a substitute apprenticeship instructor for the Local 313 Joint
Apprenticeship and Training Committee.
Brother Kernan contributes to his community in many ways, including
as a marriage-preparation counselor for engaged couples through
a program called Engaged Encounter. He has also volunteered to wire
the Sojourners Homeless Shelter. Throughout his post-secondary education,
he has received many academic awards, including the 1997 Computer
Engineering Technology Outstanding Graduate Award from the Delaware
Technical and Community College in Dover.
Brother Kernan believes the Founders’ Scholarships provide
IBEW members with the means to keep abreast of rapidly changing
technology in the electrical industry. He envisions the members
becoming more technologically savvy, then becoming NJATC instructors
and passing along their expertise to other members. In this way,
he believes, the Brotherhood may reap the benefits born of innovations:
"With properly trained technicians ready to deliver new technology
to consumers, the often sudden market demand can be more easily
met. ... The Founders’ Scholarships play a significant role
in achieving this goal by educating IBEW members who help
to keep the Brotherhood at the forefront of this technological boom."
International Officers and staff meet with the Scholarship Selection
Committee as it begins its deliberations. Standing, from left, Senior
Executive Assistant to the International President Vincent A. O’Reilly,
Manufacturing Department Director Robert Stander, International
Secretary-Treasurer Edwin D. Hill and International President J.J.
Barry. Seated, from left, G.E.’s Manager of Union Relations
and Corporate Industrial Relations Dennis W. Rocheleau; Dr. Mary
Hufford, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress; and U.S.
Navy Commander Joseph Fallone.
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