NEW YORK NURSE: November 2009
by Mark Genovese
Many of the faces at the NYSNA Convention are familiar – they belong to members who have attended every session for decades.
One such member, Jane Godden, was absent from Convention for the first time in nearly 50 years. As her health prevented her from coming to Saratoga Springs, she was unable to attend her own induction into the NYSNA Leadership Institute.
But members of the Retired Nurses Committee didn’t forget her. During their meeting on Thursday, the veterans called her and had a brief conversation via speaker phone. “I miss you all,” Godden said. The 60 RNs in the room then passed around a “thinking of you” card, which they signed as they discussed the important role of retirees in the association.
There were some new faces at Convention too.
For Jacet Jarrett of Valley Stream, N.Y., attending Convention cemented her decision to become a member of NYSNA. Jarrett, who works at Winthrop University Hospital, satisfied her curiosity about the event by attending with several friends who are NYSNA members. She found Convention to be such an “excellent experience” that “as soon as I came home, I filled out the application to become a member.” Jarrett and friends are already looking forward to next year’s biennial conference at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
“It was a very new experience, and what I enjoyed most was the setup of the seminars,” said Desiree Joseph of Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center. “There was a camaraderie among nurses on issues, even if we agree to disagree. I intend to go to the next meeting so I can see it from the beginning.”
“I found the procedural way in which Voting Body was run very interesting and informative,” said Joan Macchione of North Shore University Hospital at Plainview, who had been a NYSNA member for eight years but had never gone to Convention. “It shows that the democratic process is alive and well. The majority rules. I look forward to attending other conventions in the future.”