WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: A number of Southern Tier Labor Leaders, Union Delegates and Memberswere part of an overall group of 80 individualswho attended the United Way’s 19th Annual Salute to Labor Dinner that was held Wednesday (August 1st) evening at the Jamestown Elks Lodge.  Pictured Above (from Left to Right): United Way Of Southern Chautauqua County Executive Director Tory Irgang, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Local 807 Member/2012 Joseph H. Mason Community Service Award Winner Rodney Kolstee and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 458’s Gary Sorenson, who also serves as United Way Of Southern Chautauqua County’s Labor Committee Chair.  (WNYLaborToday.com Photo)

(JAMESTOWN) - The United Way Of Southern Chautauqua County’s 19th Annual Consecutive Salute to Labor Dinner was a big hit Wednesday (August 1st) evening, nearly tripling the number in attendance and honoring one of Labor’s own – CSEA (Civil Service Employees Association) Local 807 Union Member Rodney Kolstee, who was presented with the 2012 Joseph H. Mason Community Service Award Winner for his work with the Jamestown Lakers Sled Hockey Team that offers both young and old physically- and -mentally-challenged athletes an opportunity to play the sport with their peers for free.

Leadership from both the Jamestown and Dunkirk AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils were in attendance at the Labor Dinner, which also served as an official kick-off to the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County’s Annual Fundraising Drive, whose goal has been set at reaching a total of $1.31 million by the middle of January 2013.  United Way Executive Director Tory Irgang, who said Organized Labor “is a big part of what (the United Way) does every year,” noted the Fundraising Goal had been raised by a modest $10,000 over 2011’s goal.

“Because of our aging residents, those dealing with poverty, and the need for Jobs, the ‘need’ is always great.  With the help of the (Jamestown) Labor Council and the Labor Community, the ‘real story’ is what they do for us every year,” Irgang said.

Chautauqua County Labor was well-represented at the dinner as a number of area Unions had representatives in attendance, including: IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electricians) Locals 97 and 106 (including Local 106 President Dave Wilkinson); Carpenters Local 276; CSEA Unit 6300 and Local 807; Bob Dando from the SEIU (Service Employees International Union); United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 338; several United Steelworkers (USW) Locals and Retirees; and Jamestown’s Police and Fire Unions. 

In addition, Jamestown AFL-CIO President Jack Rudy and several Members of the Jamestown Council’s Executive Board, Dunkirk AFL-CIO Central Labor Council President Doug Stock and several Members of the Dunkirk Council’s Executive Board, Jamestown Council Member and Union Leader George Spitale, a representative from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 17 from Erie County, and Bill Jakobi, who serves as United Way of Niagara’s Labor Liaison to the Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, were also there.

Jamestown AFL-CIO Council President Rudy (Pictured Below/WNYLaborToday.com Photo) served as the dinner’s Keynote Speaker and told those in attendance: “Tonight the Chautauqua County Labor Coalition, which consists of the Jamestown and Dunkirk Labor Councils, are here to honor one of ‘our own.’  We make things work and – together – we make this work too.  (Labor) believes in our Community and we’re help to help those with a ‘hand-up’ – not a ‘hand-out.’  (Labor) takes pride in helping our neighbors and we’re looking to make it like the ‘old days’ – when someone hurts in our neighborhood, we are all there to help them.”

The United Way’s Irgang, meanwhile, presented Kolstee with the Joseph H. Mason Community Service Award, which is presented annually to a Union Member or Union Staff person whose Volunteer Service to the Jamestown Community honors the spirit of involvement exhibited by the late Union Leader Joseph H. Mason.  The recipient is chosen by a Committee of past winners and the United Way Labor Committee, which includes: IBEW Local 459’s Gary Sorenson, who also serves as United Way’s Labor Committee Chair; CSEA  Local 807’s Steve Skidmore; IBEW Local 106’s Wilkinson; and UAW Local 338’s Karen Olson.

In nominating Kolstee, Skidmore said: “Rodney has given so much back to this Community through the Sled Hockey Program.  There are hundreds of young lives he’s touched.  He truly exemplifies the volunteer spirit of the late Joseph H. Mason.”

With several Family Members of the late Mason in attendance, Kolstee (Pictured Below/WNYLaborToday.com Photo) – Irgang said – has given back to the Jamestown Community “beyond his commitment” to the Labor Movement in the Southern Tier.  “The theme of the Youth Sled Hockey Team is ‘Everyone Should Play’ and he’s helped dramatically improve the lives of so many and their Families.  He’s changed the lives of so many and for the better,” she said.

Kolstee is an Employee of the Chautauqua County Department of Public Facilities and a Member of CSEA Local 807, where he served as 2nd Vice President from 1998 to 2007.  He also served as President of the Greater Chautauqua Federal Credit Union from 1992 to 2011.  In 2003, Kolstee co-founded and currently serves as Program Director for the Lakers Sled Hockey Program. “This program,” Kolstee said, “is offered at no cost to Families.”  In addition, for the past five years, he’s volunteered his time by serving as a Youth Group Leader at Lakewood United Methodist Church in Jamestown.

“It means a lot to me personally,” Kolstee said prior to the Awards Dinner. “When I volunteer, my reward is simply the smiles I get from the people I help.  That’s all I really need.”

After receiving a standing ovation, Kolstee told those in at the dinner the story of one young boy who after participating in the Sled Hockey Team remarked he was “a ‘real athlete’ now. 

Another gentleman, who was severely injured in a motorcycle accident, was coaxed by Kolstee to give Sled Hockey a try.  “He (initially) didn’t want to do it.  Now, I can’t get him out of the sled,” said Kolstee, who publicly thanked his wife, Peggy, and sons, Dan and Willie, for their support over the years. 

New York State Senator Kathy Young (Pictured Below/WNYLaborToday.com Photo) also attended the dinner and brought with her a proclamation from the State Senate in Albany that also honored Kolstee’s volunteerism in the Jamestown Community. 

Meanwhile, Sorenson (Pictured Below/WNYLaborToday.com Photo) was also honored by the United Way Of Southern Chautauqua County for his long-time volunteerism with the United Way over the years.