Local News

She is first trade unionist and first woman to head the board

J’AMEY HOLROYD, A member of Local 146 (Edmonton, Alberta) made history in May when she was named Chair of the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT) Board.

It’s the first time in the board’s 71-year history that either a trade unionist or a woman has been appointed to the position.

JUSTIN HYNES, A fourth-generation apprentice with Local 28 (Eastampton, N.J.), is proudly serving with the U.S. Marine Corps as a White House guard, reports Justin’s father, Franny Hynes, who is also a Local 28 member.

Franny says Justin placed his apprenticeship training on hold to serve in the Marines and that “his hard work habits and ‘can do’ attitude learned in the trade contributed to him being hand-picked for this important detail, from a field of hundreds of Marines.”

Jason Small recalls impression of Capitol event

JASON SMALL, PRESIDENT of Local 11 (East Helena, Mont.) enjoyed a bird’s eye view of one of the nation’s top political events when he attended the annual State of the Union (SOTU) at the U.S. Capitol January 13.

Small, who is politically active, especially on matters pertaining to the future of coal and opportunities for Native Americans (he is a member of the Northern Cheyenne Nation), attended the SOTU as a special guest of U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana.

Award cites union activism

THE WASHINGTON WOMEN in Trades Association honored Local 290 (Bremerton, Wash.) Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer Deanna Cain for union activism at the group’s 9th Annual Dream Big Dinner held Nov. 21 near Seattle. Cain was among six women recognized for their leadership roles.

Cain also serves as secretary-treasurer for the Bremerton Metal Trades, which represents workers at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. She previously served Local 290 as a steward and recording secretary.

THIRTEEN MEMBERS OF Local 83 (Kansas City, Mo.) along with lodge officers completed Boilermaker Code training Feb. 15. Pictured above are, front row, left to right: Tony McKinley, Ron Hoopes, Mike Tucker, Mike Hodges, Dennis Matticks, Marty Gravett, Alex Hunter, Robbi Ussery and Nathan Fouks.

“I WAS A mean kid,” admits Don Rojem, 86, a Michigan native and retired member of Local 169 (Detroit). “I just wasn’t cut out for school.”

After being twice kicked out for being a rebellious student, Rojem, at age 12, put formal education permanently behind him and began an adventure that ultimately led him to become a Boilermaker, a job he grew to love and would one day write about in a newfound passion for poetry.

Local 1 • Chicago

JOHN F. RIEL, BM-ST of Local 1, Chicago, reports presentation of membership pins to the following:

IEC committee announces local, CFL winners

THE BOILERMAKERS’ International Executive Council has announced its selection of scholarship recipients for two local lodges and the Canadian Federation of Labour (CFL).

The committee selected Jason Boutilier, son of Daniel Boutilier, Lodge 73 (St. John, New Brunswick), and Dawn Elizabeth Curran, granddaughter of Edward Curran, Lodge 146 (Edmonton, Alberta), to each receive a $1,000 CFL scholarship award.

Local 659 members constructed monument sections in Warren, Pa.

A SMALL CONTINGENT of former Boilermakers who helped build sections of the Gateway Arch were on hand at the Missouri History Museum Oct. 28 to commemorate the “topping out” of the national monument in 1965.

Facility will generate electricity, melt snow

EIGHTEEN MEMBERS OF Local 169 (Detroit) are among the building trade workers constructing a $240 million combined cycle plant in Holland, Mich., a community of 28,000 in the state’s western Lower Peninsula. The new plant, situated on about 26 acres, will replace and double the output of the aging James DeYoung coal-fired facility, which was completed in 1939.