September 2004 IBEW Journal

Appointed

William T. Bohne’ Jr.

IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill has named International Representative Bill Bohne’ as director of the IBEW Personnel Department effective August 1, 2004. He succeeds Glenda Thomason, who retired.

Brother Bohne’ is a 30-year member of IBEW Local 2270, Wilmington, Delaware, with a lengthy record of service to IBEW railroad members. He served as Local 2270 Local Chairman and President for 13 years before becoming Assistant General Chairman of Railroad System Council 7 in 1993. He moved up to System Council Vice Chairman and legislative representative.

In 2002 International President Hill named him an International Representative and assigned him to the Railroad Department at the International Office.

Brother Bohne’ holds an associate’s degree in liberal arts from Delaware County Community College and in 1999 was awarded his bachelor’s degree in labor studies from the Antioch University program at the George Meany Center.

During his time in his local, he spent six years in the U.S. Navy Reserves in the 1970s, including 22 months of active duty as an electronic technician.

Brother Bohne’ and his wife, Cathy, have two children and three grandchildren. He is a member of the St. Mark’s Lutheran Church where he serves as chairman of the Mutual Ministry Committee, chairman of the Christian Education Committee, and sings in the choir. As chairman of a Springfield Youth Aid Panel committee, he has volunteered time to his community adjudicating criminal cases for youths 18 and under.

The Brotherhood extends congratulations and best wishes to Brother Bohne’ as he assumes his new responsibilities.

Retired

Gordon L. Bray

Fourth District International Representative Gordon L. Bray retired September 1, 2004, in his 48th year as an IBEW member and 40 years after he first became an international representative.

Born in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky, Brother Bray was initiated into manufacturing Local 1842, Evendale, Ohio, in September 1956. That was soon after he finished a four-year tour of duty in the U.S. Air Force, starting during the Korean War in 1952.

Two years after he was initiated into the IBEW, he became a member of the Local 1842 Executive Board. He took office as the local president and acting business manager in 1960.

He was named an International Representative by then-International President Gordon Freeman in 1964 and assigned to the Fourth District.

He and his wife, Gladys, have one son, Jimmy Lee, and Brother Bray is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The IBEW wishes him and his family a long and rewarding retirement.

Retired

Kenneth L. Olsen

On September 1, 2004, Kenneth L. Olsen will retire as an International Representative, having passed his 35th anniversary as an IBEW member.

For all of those years, Brother Olsen says, "I loved my job because it involves working with people." He was initiated into Local 532, Billings, Montana, in 1969 and has served the Rocky Mountain area throughout his career.

He came up through the ranks at Local 532 as a member of the examining board and executive board before becoming treasurer in 1973 and assistant business manager the next year.

He then served five years as business manager before being named an International Representative in 1989 and assigned to the Eighth District. In addition to time on the Montana State Electrical Board, he has an extensive record of serving various Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees, both in Montana and in the five-state area of the Eighth District.

He has also served the labor movement as an officer of the local Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO and was for years an active member of the Democratic Party, both in the Yellowstone County and Montana State parties.

Brother Olsen graduated from Charlo (Montana) High School and attended the University of Montana as well as serving in the U.S. Army in 1961-62. He and his wife, Lois, have two daughters and three grandchildren. The IBEW wishes the Olsens a rich and fruitful retirement.

Deceased

Thomas Earl Malone

Sadly, the IBEW is informed of the July 27, 2004, death of former Sixth District International Vice President T. E. Malone, who joined the IBEW in 1940 and retired in 1979. He was 86.

Brother Malone was a native of Kentucky who was initiated into the IBEW in Local 17, Detroit, Michigan. In 1969, Brother Malone was appointed Sixth District Vice President by then-President Charles Pillard, and subsequently elected to three full terms.

Brother Malone had served Local 17 as executive board member and financial secretary before being elected business manager. He was appointed an International Representative by then-President Gordon Freeman in 1960.

Brother Malone was a pilot in both World War II and the Korean War. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as a cadet in 1942 and served in the Pacific, where he rose to the rank of first lieutenant. During the Korean conflict he served with the Strategic Air Command. He was a lifetime VFW member and a charter member of the Air Force Association.

He retired on June 1, 1979, and was residing in Alamo, Texas, at the time of his death. His wife, Delores, preceded him in death. The IBEW extends its condolences to Brother Malone’s family.

Deceased

Howard Moreland

The IBEW regrets to announce the death June 10, 2004, of Howard Moreland, a World War II veteran who retired as an IBEW International Representative in 1986.

He died a few months after the 50th anniversary of his initiation into the IBEW. He was 81.

Brother Moreland began his IBEW career as journeyman wireman in Local 34, Peoria, Illinois. He was initiated in 1954 and was elected president of Local 34 in 1965, followed by becoming business manager in 1968. He was appointed an International Representative in 1971.

He was born in Bloomington, Illinois, graduated from East Peoria High and attended Illinois Wesleyan University.

He began his military service in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 and served to the end of World War II, seeing service in China, Burma and India. He stayed active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars and was honored as a 50-year member of the VFW Post 2078.

He is survived by his wife, Elaine. They have four daughters and Brother Moreland was particularly proud that each of his daughters—Marilyn, Carol, Nancy and Janet—earned a master’s degree. The IBEW extends its deepest sympathy to Brother Moreland’s family and friends.

Transitions