We proudly announce that Jan Bureau, long-time Treasurer for A&R has retired from state service! We want to wish Jan well as she heads to Maine for the summer, but we also want to thank her for all she has done for us serving as a union officer and a friend. Jan is the person who always found humor in life. She smiled endlessly, and she always had a joke she wanted you to hear...her jokes were almost always corny, but they also made you smile every time (and shake your head). She is loaded with life and finally decided that she was ready to enjoy something different after a 32 year career at the Department of Banking. We all know Jan from her 13-years as A&R Treasurer where she kept watch over the union funds and consistently reported clean audits...but her first union role was actually as Chief Negotiator way back in 2001. She has been serving as a steward for A&R since then, and of course, her most famous role is at the Annual Holiday Party. Every year at the A&R Holiday Party, Jan was known for 2 things: first, she worked the "problem" table, so if you had a problem, she would fix it (usually with drink tickets), but second, she would take her own time and own expense to put together a gift for every attendee, usually it involved chocolate so we definitely thank her for that.
More importantly, though. Jan was a friend. A good friend to so many. She was kind, supportive, and approachable, she kept good care over the people she knew and she never backed down or let anyone down. Jan is someone you can count on. Jan is one of those people that you look forward to seeing and when you are with her, you never know what will happen, but you know something will. We will miss Jan greatly, but who can argue with retirement? Congratulations, Jan. You worked for 32 years, you earned this, you deserve this...go enjoy retirement!
As Jan has stepped down from the position of A&R Treasurer, we want to welcome in the next era of fiscal control with Ally Sexton stepping into the role. We all know Ally. Ally is an absolute force for the labor movement and of course, knows her way through a set of financial books. Ally was our Assistant Treasurer and is also the A&R COPE PAC Treasurer., so this isn't new to her. Ally has been appointed to serve out the remainder of Jan's term which is set to end this April. Filling in for Ally Sexton on the RA will be Zhijian Li (DOT).