UUP is honoring two retiree members with the 2010 Outstanding Active Retiree Award: Henry Geerken of Cobleskill and Dave Peckham of Upstate Medical University (UMU) in Syracuse.

“Henry and Dave are exemplary UUP members who have served the union with distinction as active employees and as active retirees,” said UUP President Phil Smith. “They are truly an inspiration to our younger members and to the young at heart.”

Henry Geerken fought for members’ rights for more than 20 years as a former statewide UUP Executive Board member, chapter president and chapter vice president for professionals.

And he wasn’t about to stop fighting when he left SUNY service.

Since his retirement in 1994 as director of admissions, Geerken has actively participated in the workings of the Committee on Active Retired Membership (COARM). As an outspoken proponent for a strong union voice for retirees, Geerken helped to create a “white paper” that pushed for a Retiree Chapter in UUP and for a voting member on the statewide Executive Board.

But it’s his written word that has endeared Geerken to his colleagues, and which has earned several accolades from UUP and its national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, in their annual journalism competitions for labor communicators.

“Life as I see it” is a standing column by Geerken in The Active Retiree, which is published three times a year for the 3,500 retired members of UUP. Dubbed by professional judges in the AFT contest as “the Henny Youngman of UUP,” Geerken’s columns use humor to typify the pitfalls of growing older.

“Henry’s devotion to retiree issues and his wonderful sense of humor inspire other retirees to keep on trucking,” said Judy Wishnia of SUNY Stony Brook, COARM chair. COARM reviews nominations and recommends recipients for the annual retiree award.

Dave Peckham didn’t stop advocating for UUP and the University when he left Upstate Medical University in 2000 as a professor in the College of Health Related Professions.

Instead, he kicked it up a notch.

As a long-time member of the statewide UUP Outreach Committee and Retiree Legislative Action Group (RELAG), Peckham has spoken out on behalf of retiree issues in advocacy trips to Albany and in lawmakers’ home districts. COLA, elder abuse and retiree health benefits are just a few of the issues he has tackled on behalf of his fellow retired SUNY employees.

At the same time, Peckham has advocated alongside his UUP and K-12 in-service colleagues in face-to-face meetings with lawmakers, most recently to speak against legislation that would jeopardize the quality of a SUNY education, and in favor of more funding for the University.

“David represents the best of our active retirees who continue to advocate for the union and SUNY,” Wishnia said.

The awards will be handed out Oct. 1 during the 2010 Fall Delegate Assembly in Buffalo.

— Karen L. Mattison