Dana Ragle and Sue Conway
This month we must say goodbye to our good friend and colleague, Denise Jennex . Denise has served as the Executive Director of the Burbank- Glendale Uniserv for seven years. She has had a great personal and working relationship with Burbank teachers, and we are very sad and sorry to see her go.
Denise has supported Burbank’s teachers each and every day as our Executive Director. She has led us through difficult negotiations, helped numerous individual teachers, and handled any problem the Co-Presidents or Executive Board has brought to her. Her unflappable strength, determination, and character have made her an indispensable leader for our association. She has always been there for us and we have felt so lucky to have her as an ardent defender of educators and the teaching profession.
Denise has done an outstanding job in our negotiations with the District. She is able to quickly grasp the budget and the various contract issues that surface at the table. In the last few years she has led our efforts to significantly raise our teachers’ salaries and maintain our health benefits. Her confidence, experience, and knowledge have been a crucial part of our negotiations with the district over the last seven years.
Denise has led the teachers of Burbank through difficult and complicated issues. She worked tirelessly to save teachers’ jobs when the District issued pink slips in response to state budget cuts. She set up NCLB training and assisted teachers in the process to document their status as highly qualified. She helped us to organize campaigns and phone banking to elect School Board members and defeat propositions.
Additionally, she has helped countless teachers with individual problems. Denise has worked hours and hours above and beyond the workday to make sure the teachers of Burbank have the support they need.
Not only has Denise assisted us with various issues, she also has given the Executive Board the help and confidence we needed to do our jobs. Just knowing that we had her standing with us made us stronger and able to handle any problem that came our way. With Denise we feel like we’ve had a foundation of granite upon which to build our Association.
For the teachers of Burbank, Denise has been an outstanding Executive Director. She has an amazing work ethic and has handled our Association business with humor and competence. She is funny, open, warm, loyal, and caring, and it’s hard for us to imagine our Association without her. We are so grateful that Denise has been with us for the last seven years, and we will miss her as both a good friend and colleague.
Farewell, Denise and best of luck in your new position at the Twin Lakes UniServ!