PEF Region 4 member honored for bold action It’s often said, “Timing is everything,”


and it was a key factor around noon Saturday, February 15. That’s when PEF member John Snyder


was driving in downtown Syracuse near the campus of Syracuse University. “I observed campus police officers


struggling with two men,” Snyder said, “when one of the men took off running.” A state parole officer, Snyder


immediately used his car to catch up to and cut off the fleeing man and then stopped and held the suspect until campus police could arrive and take him into custody. “The two men (who were not students or


associated with the university) were suspects in a string of about 22 burglaries of academic buildings on the campus,” Snyder said. “They had been timing their burglaries to


coincide with basketball games and sporting events on the campus. This time,


THANKS – Anthony Callisto, chief of public safety at Syracuse University, presents a plaque, expressing the gratitude of campus police to PEF member and state parole officer John Snyder for his “quick and selfless action” in joining their foot pursuit of suspects in a series of campus burglaries. – Photo courtesy of Syracuse University


the university police had put extra officers in several buildings and were watching. They spotted the suspects and went after them.” At an annual awards ceremony in May,


Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety honored Snyder for his quick, selfless action and help. – Sherry Halbrook


Group effort helps members attain weight loss goals


By SHERRY HALBROOK Four winners emerged at the final weigh-


in for the PEF Region 8 Women’s Program 2014 Biggest Loser Spring Challenge. Anna Quackenbush, Katheline Larose,


Brian Purtell and Robert Lane reduced their weights by the highest percentages of all the 71 members who participated in the challenge. Overall, the group lost 191 pounds


between the initial weigh-in April 7 and the final one July 21. Purtell, who works at the state


Department of Audit and Control, lost 14


percent of his weight, the greatest percentage of any of the participants. He told the group he had lost 65 pounds over a two-year period by making workouts with a personal trainer a priority. “I give it the same priority as I give a


doctor’s appointment,” Purtell said, adding he became motivated to lose the weight when he took a “swing dancing cruise” and found he was too heavy and out of shape to keep up. A management specialist at the state


Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, Lane reduced his weight by 8 percent. He


credited increased exercise and “no more Rice Krispies treats” for his success. Quackenbush shed 9 percent of her


weight over the three and a half months of the challenge, and Larose cut her weight by 5 percent. They said being part of the group effort helped them stay motivated. They both work at the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. The Biggest Loser challenges are among


the ways PEF and, in this case, the Region 8 Women’s Program are helping members achieve healthier lifestyles, something delegates to the union’s 2013 convention made a priority. “I commend the Region 8 Women’s


Program for its efforts in assisting and encouraging PEF members toward a healthier lifestyle,” said PEF Vice President Barbara Ulmer, who chairs the union’s statewide women’s program. “The biggest loser challenge has been a


great success and very beneficial to the members who have participated,” Ulmer said. The Region 8 challenges are coordinated


by members Linda Baker, Maddie Shannon Roberts, Holly Clark and Debi Chowdhury, along with Linda Carignan, who heads the state’s Employee Assistance Program, PEF Region 8 Coordinator Nikki Brate and Ulmer. The 2014 Holiday Challenge is slated for


THEYWON – PEF Region 8 members Anna Quackenbush, Katheline Larose, Robert Lane and Brian Purtell display their certificates in July after losing the greatest percentages of their weight during the 2014 Biggest Loser Spring Challenge, a program of the women’s committee.


– Photo by Sherry Halbrook Page 26—The Communicator September 2014 PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445


October 6 to December 15. For more information or to enroll, call the Region 8 field office at 518-785-1900, ext. 215.


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