Waterloo Teacher Receives ETFO President’s Award

August 14, 2008

Judy Perkes of Waterloo has received the 2008 Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) President’s Award for 2007-2008.

The award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to ETFO during the past year.  Perkes received her award from ETFO President David Clegg at the federation’s annual meeting in Toronto last night.

Perkes is First Vice-President of the Waterloo Teacher Local.  She is also the local’s Treasurer and a member of the provincial representative council.  She chairs multiple local committees, is a member of the local Collective Bargaining Committee, and has been a location manager of the ETFO Summer Academy.

Last year, when a new faculty of education opened in Waterloo, she was offered the additional role of ETFO representative on the newly established Teacher Education Liaison Committee, which she accepted without hesitation.

“Little did she know that the decision also meant she was the Chair and a member of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation’s (OTF) Faculty of Education Committee,” said Clegg.  “When the university faced a labour disruption by staff that required a special touch in handling, she executed all of her duties with such skill, tact, and dexterity that she won the accolades of OTF for her work in this difficult situation.

“ETFO is fundamentally a service organization; it is about getting the job done and getting the job done well. Judy Perkes gets the job done -- and not just one job by a myriad of jobs – with passion and with focus.”

The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario represents 73,000 elementary public school teachers and education workers across Ontario and is the largest teacher federation in Canada.