St. Lucie County – Friday October 21, 2022: The Florida Education Association (FEA) has honored retired educator Felicia Bruce with the FEA Service Award. The award is offered yearly to a member of the FEA, or an area affiliate, who has superior the explanation for human and civil rights.
Bruce was offered with the FEA Service Award on Oct. 14 at the FEA Human and Civil Rights Awards Gala, held in Orlando at the side of the annual FEA Delegate Assembly. The Service Award was considered one of 5 statewide awards offered to 6 honorees at the occasion.
Bruce is a member of the Classroom Teachers Association and Classified Unit, Retirees of St. Lucie County.
Since becoming a member of the St. Lucie group greater than a decade in the past, after an extended instructing profession in New York, Bruce has embodied the saying, “Activists Never Retire.” She has served in quite a few roles, together with performing as legislative liaison for the retiree unit, and as a delegate to the annual FEA Delegate Assembly, FEA Retired conferences and Treasure Coast Central Labor Council. David Freeland, president of the Education Association of St. Lucie, notes Bruce is an “invaluable and very active member” of TIGER-PAC, the native political motion committee.
She additionally serves as president of the native chapter of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans (FLARA), and secured a grant for native retirees to journey to Tallahassee and take part in the Working Families Lobby Corps. In her management function as president of New York State United Teachers/Teachers Retired in Florida Retiree Council 43 — the solely retiree unit exterior of New York — Bruce labored to create a brand new unit in The Villages. In addition, she has labored tirelessly to kind a coalition of unions throughout Florida that would talk with leaders in New York and different states to resolve frequent issues.
Bruce describes her outlook on life: “I am passionate about social justice. I view the political system as the most efficient way to achieve equality and fairness for all. To that end, I recognize that we face enormous challenges and must be both diligent and vigilant in securing equitable solutions while protecting our civil rights.”
Sean Mitchell, St. Lucie County commissioner and chief of a development union (Ironworkers Local 402), says of Bruce: “She always puts working families, social justice, and common-sense kindness foremost. … Her grasp of issues and tireless energy have earned my enduring respect and admiration.”
About the FEA
The Florida Education Association is the state’s largest affiliation {of professional} staff, with 150,000 members. FEA represents PreK-12 lecturers, instructional employees professionals, increased schooling school and graduate assistants, college students at our faculties and universities making ready to change into lecturers, and retired schooling staff.