Happy summer, New York! I hope you are all enjoying the season — while weathering the heat —and taking time to be with people who bring joy and meaning to your lives. It was wonderful to celebrate with so many of you at the Softball Social meet-and-greet in Central Park and at the NYC Pride March. A special thank you to our New York Local Vice President Anthony Rapp and his beautiful family for joining us as the featured guests on the SAG-AFTRA float during the march. I am so proud of our inclusive and diverse membership and how proudly we represent all of the communities we are, and the stories we portray, and explore on screens and behind microphones all around the world.
Speaking of special people, I am honored to relay that our own Janice Pendarvis was honored at last month’s special convention with the George Heller Memorial Award gold card. Janice is a singer and voice actor who has spent years fighting for singers both legislatively and within the union. She is committed to organizing work for SAG-AFTRA members — especially those working in the recording industry. She is currently serving her second term as SAG-AFTRA Vice President, Recording Artists/Singers. Janice started out in the business as a songwriter and a singer with artists such as Roberta Flack, Sting, David Bowie, Steely Dan, Peter Tosh and the Rolling Stones. In addition to her performing, she recently retired from Berklee College of Music as a professor in the Voice Department after seventeen years of service, and has been an adjunct professor working with the Vocal Performance and Songwriting programs at NYU-Steinhardt for the past ten years. A fierce advocate, she is an inspiration to all of us. Congratulations to Janice, for these much-deserved flowers.
Executive Vice President and New York Local Vice President Linda Powell spoke at the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau’s Gender-Based Violence and Harassment in Focus Summit in Washington D.C. about SAG-AFTRA’s multifaceted approach to preventing and addressing gender-based violence and harassment within the entertainment industry. The work of the union continues throughout these busy summer months.
Finally, if you have not done so already, please log in to the SAG-AFTRA website and complete your confidential Demographic Profile today. We have to know who we are to get what we want. It would be a great help to your union.
Forward together,
Ezra Knight
New York Local President