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News

NECA's Ron Bailey earns inaugural award from the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus

Jan 19, 2023

DENVER, CO- On January 14th, 2023, NECA Vice President of Industry Development Lt. Gen. Ronald Bailey was named as the recipient of the Robbie Sparks North Star Award at the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus (EWMC) Conference in Denver. Having just created the Award this year, the EWMC honored Bailey as the first to ever receive the prestigious accolade. In the few years that Bailey has been a part of the electrical contracting community, his unrelenting dedication and support for the EWMC and for the industry as a whole, have made a huge difference.

When accepting the award, Bailey said, “I don’t do work for recognition, I do work to make a difference. But I do appreciate the honor and being honored with the name Robbie Sparks but also with EWMC. My goal is to at least be a point of recognition when people think about NECA. If there’s anything I can do to assist and help in this area when we think about diversity, equity and inclusion and belonging, it’s a big job that we need to make a difference in and I’m looking forward to.”

Robbie J. Sparks is currently president emeritus of the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus. She was its first president and founding member and is a retired business manager with Local 2127.  She retired from her presidency in 2012 but remains very active.  It was Sparks’ vision and tenacity that made her a living legend in the EWMC, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and labor movement.  The EWMC has been instrumental in encouraging change in the electrical community’s culture and leading the way to building a more inclusive union.