At the RA: Chapter newsletters win awards

Three UUP chapter newsletters and The Active Retiree have earned prestigious awards in a statewide journalism competition sponsored by NYSUT’s New York Teacher.

Delhi, Farmingdale and Stony Brook HSC newsletters won a combined nine awards for outstanding writing and design. The Active Retiree — the three-times-a-year newsletter for the union’s 2,600-plus retiree members — picked up an additional three awards.

The Delhi Voice won six awards in the Class II category (local membership of 201-300). The newsletter received awards of merit for: general excellence; best feature story, written by editor Tony Markham; best editorial/column, by Charles Molé; and best front page/cover, designed by Kathy Markham. Delhi’s Voice also picked up honorable mentions for general excellence/community publication and best news story, written by Chapter President Gary Edwards.

“Very professional, well-written and laid out,” according to the judges. “(It) does a good job of engaging local membership with topical articles.”

The Farmingdale Unifier earned an honorable mention for general excellence in Class III (membership of 301-650).

“Wonderfully inclusive with bright, intelligently written (articles),” according to the judges. “The Unifier gets high marks for content.”

Stony Brook HSC Bridges won two awards in Class V (more than 1,000 members). The newsletter won an award of merit for general excellence and an honorable mention for best article on health issues, written by Doris Weisman.

“Overall, this is a solid publication that is visually appealing, well-written and deep in varied content,” the judges added.

The Active Retiree won three first-place awards (Class IV/Retiree membership of more than 1,000) for general excellence, best column and best news story.

Retiree Henry Geerken of Cobleskill — who writes a humorous column dubbed “Life as I see it ...” — was considered by the judges to be “the Henny Youngman of UUP.”

The best feature story, “Emeritus Center: Retirees find warm welcome at University at Buffalo site,” was written by Old Westbury retiree Claire Meirowitz, a former Active Retiree editor.

— Karen L. Mattison