May 17, 2001 – Vernelle de Lagarde will become the new president of the St. Thomas-St. John Federation of Teachers effective Aug. 31, when current AFT President Glen J. Smith steps down.
De Lagarde has been serving as the AFT chapter's first vice president.
Smith, who has served 10 terms, unsuccessfully sought a seat in the 24th Legislature. A release Thursday from the AFT quoted Smith has having said that if he ever ran for public office, he would not seek re-election to the union post.
In the release, Smith described de Lagarde as a 20-year union member "who has served in various capacity [sic] and will perform very well as our third elected president/CEO."
In fact, de Lagarde had her trial by fire last fall during the teachers strike that shut down the public schools for weeks. At the time, she was serving as interim president while Smith was campaigning.
The release did not specify when the "recent elections of officers for the years 2001-2003" had taken place.
The newly elected officers:
President – Vernelle de Lagarde
First vice president – Alrid Lockhart
Second vice president – Sidney Bell
Third vice president – Roi Simmonds
Fourth vice president — Valerie Johnson
Fifth vice president – Lydia Gumbs
Recording secretary – Clemmie Moses
Corresponding secretary – Rubye Tisdale-Todman
Treasurer – Richard Brown
Paraprofessional unit:
Vice chair – Pauline Lynch-Benitez
Secretary – Jennifer Lake
Support staff unit:
Vice chair – C. Diana Smith
Secretary – Diana Matthew
