Saturday, March 27, 2004.

NYSUT’s Tom Hobart and Antonia Cortese with Judith Wishnia of UUP Stony Brook, winner of the Best of the Best award; and below with Cynthia Villanti and Ellis Gage Searles, winners of the Solidarity award. Best of the Best and Solidarity are the top honors in the statewide competition.

Top union newspapers were honored Saturday when 60 NYSUT locals won prizes in New York Teacher's annual journalism competition.

The Active Retiree, published by United University Professions, received the 2004 Ted Bleecker Award honoring the best of all publications submitted for judging. The paper, edited by Judith Wishnia of UUP Stony Brook retirees, was cited for overall excellence, good, clear writing on relevant topics and its appealing layout. The award is named for the late Ted Bleecker, founding editor of New York Teacher.

PAnorama, produced by the Mohawk Valley Community College Professional Association, won the Solidarity Award. Edited by Cynthia Villanti, the publication received high praise for its thoughtful presentation of union concerns and inclusion of NYSUT and the AFT in its coverage.

President Tom Hobart and First Vice President Antonia Cortese presented the awards. A full list of winners will appear in a future issue of New York Teacher and on the NYSUT Web site, www.nysut.org.