STATE NEWS
Members of The Year
Meet your CSEA Members of the Year
Coleen Davenport, David Kong express their emotions receiving prestigious award
Coleen Davenport bookends CSEA career with Member of the Year award
by Shannon Carr
Earning the 2021 Member of the Year Award at this year’s 95th Annual Conference served as a bookend to Coleen Davenport’s time as a CSEA member for 24 years with Beverly Hills Chapter 328.
“I was shocked and surprised. I was amazed that my coworkers thought so highly of my work supporting the chapter,” she said of receiving the award.
“I was shocked and surprised. I was amazed that my coworkers thought so highly of my work supporting the chapter.”
- Coleen Davenport, former athletic trainer with Beverly Hills Chapter 328
In August, Davenport stepped into a new job as the athletic director at Santa Monica High School, which is a certificated position.
Davenport previously served as the Beverly Hills High School athletic trainer, where she cared for 650 student athletes’ injury and preventive needs during school and at games. She also held positions as the chapter vice president and secretary, and site rep.
“I’ve been doing union work for a long time and when Coleen came in, it was honestly like a friendship right there,” said past president and security officer Pierre Hollie. “I think she really wants everybody to be treated fairly and her union work really helped us to become the strong union that we are today here in Beverly Hills, and I just personally want to thank her for everything that she’s done for me.”
Dr. Michael Bregy, Superintendent of Beverly Hills Unified School District, said there are many reasons Davenport deserved the award.
“Coleen has taken over many roles during her tenure in our district and she continues to mentor others. She has a natural ability and drive to make lasting impact and impressions on programs and her relationships,” he said.
Davenport quickly admits that her dedication and passion over the years was never done with winning awards in mind, but instead to “develop a strong relationship with our district leadership, because CSEA members have a huge impact on student learning,” she said.
“My work with CSEA Chapter 328 was about finding our voice and supporting students and staff on all of our campuses,” Davenport said. “The award just shows that with our hard work as a team, we can collectively make a positive impact working together with our district rather than working against each other.”
“It opens the doors of communication to bring up the points that union labor forces are smart, caring and resourceful individuals on school campuses,” Davenport said. “When these people work together, anything is possible.”
Coleen Davenport, athletic trainer, Beverly Hills Chapter 328
Coleen Davenport with Beverly Hills Chapter 328 night custodian Marcus Williams.
David Kong with former Marcos Gonzalez and Allan Clark, Area C Director and Association President, respectively, at the time.
David Kong stands alongside then-State Senator Dave Min during a Democratic State Convention.
David Kong exemplifies CSEA’s mission
David Kong, business operations technician with Monterey COE Chapter 35, exemplifies CSEA’s mission: To improve the lives of our members, students and community. That is exactly why Marc Gonzalez, current retiree, and former Area C Director, Conference Committee member and chapter chief union steward, nominated him for the 2020 Member of the Year Award. “I was humbled, surprised and just very thankful that some people thought highly of me,” Kong said.
Kong processes the payroll and business warrants for over 30 school districts in Monterey County and tracks asset inventory at the Monterey County Office of Education.
“David is a problem solver and is happy to help the many departments and programs at MCOE and Monterey County school districts to solve issues that come up,” Gonzalez said.
"David is a problem solver and is happy to help the many departments and programs at MCOE and Monterey County school districts to solve issues that come up,”
- Marc Gonzalez, retiree and regional representative of region 88
Kong has been a CSEA member since 1988 and became more involved after he was selected as a delegate for the 2007 conference. Kong began by joining his executive board as a communications officer and has since held many roles on CSEA task forces and committees, including with the Growth and Opportunities Task Force, Labor Council Task Force and PACE Committee.
These days, he often makes trips to Sacramento and local district offices to meet with state legislators advocating for more funding and resources to public education and legislation to help students, classified school employees and local communities. Kong also does precinct walking and phone banking for CSEA-endorsed candidates, state initiatives and bond measures.
Gonzalez said he has joined Kong on some of these efforts.
“We have had many great conversations,” he said. “He is a very quiet man, but when he's with his friends he opens up.”
Kong has also served his community through extensive volunteer work, such as president of the Greenfield Union School District Board of Education, president of the Greenfield Public Recreation District, president of the Greenfield Cemetery District, Monterey County Democratic Party Executive Board member and state delegate and member of the Safe Ag/Safe Schools coalition.
Kong has previously received service and activist awards from the CSEA South Bay Field Office, and in 2011 and 2019 was named the CSEA State Activist of the Year.
He may have received many accolades through the years but that is not what keeps him going. Kong said he is fueled by passion and shared his thanks for being recognized for the work he does every day.
Above all that though, he is proud to be a CSEA member for more than three decades and “being a member of an organization that is able to accomplish many great things,” he said.
“Individually you may not be able to do much but when we put our minds together, or our efforts together, we can do so many great things,” Kong said.
