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| 56th Annual 7th District Progress Meeting August 10, 2001 Delegates to the 56th annual Seventh District Progress Meeting June 16-19 in San Antonio, Texas heard International President Edwin D. Hill compared the Brotherhood's courage to fight even when outnumbered to the spirit of the Alamo.
He stressed to the delegates that we must look with courage to the future. Because modern technology brings ever-evolving advances, our members must diligently keep pace with the changes, he said. International Secretary-Treasurer Jerry O'Connor delivered the good news that the total number of IBEW members is nearly 775,000. Contributing to that increase was the 5 percent membership growth of the Seventh District in 2000, greater than the national average. O'Connor also spoke of the importance of local involvement in politics and member participation in the COPE program. IBEW Seventh District Vice President Orville Tate, Jr. emphasized the value of organizing and member education in his report on district activities. San Antonio locals 60 and 500 hosted the progress meeting. Fifth District Vice President Melvin Horton and Eleventh District Vice President William Eads both spoke about the origins of the labor movement and the history of the IBEW. They challenged the delegates to spread the word to the public as ambassadors for the benefits of union membership. Dave Roberts, National Electrical Contractors Association southern region director, spoke of the importance of the IBEW-NECA partnership.
Local 611, Albuquerque, New Mexico, won the COPE award for highest total contribution and Local 584, Tulsa, Oklahoma, had the highest per-member contributions. The National Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee handed out awards for locals that retrained at least 50 percent of their journeymen members. Recipients of that award were locals 271, Wichita, Kansas, which has received the award six times; 444, Ponca City, Oklahoma, which has collected the award four times; and 518, Globe, Arizona, receiving the award for the first time. The Outstanding COMET Training Award went to Local 271 and Local 20, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, received the Outstanding Construction Organizing Award for gaining more than 700 new members last year. Local 611 member William Sean Benedict received the Seventh District Outstanding Inside Apprentice Award. The Seventh District Outstanding Outside Apprentice Award went to Gary Fitzgerald of Local 66, Houston, Texas.
Delegates learned about a work-based summer internship program pairing high school students and mentors called the "School-to-Work on the High Road" project. Fifth District International Executive Committee member Lyle Keith Querry and Sixth District IEC member Bill Motley also attended the conference. Outstanding work with several locals in the district earned an executive for Tucson Electric Power an honorary membership in the IBEW. President Hill and Vice President Tate welcomed Jim Pyers as an honorary member following recommendations by Tate and Locals 570, Tucson, Arizona, 769, Phoenix, Arizona, and 1116, Tucson, for his outstanding work with IBEW members.
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7th District Progress MeetingSan Antonio |
