SAG-AFTRA Dedicates the Mike Hodge Executive Conference Room

SAG-AFTRA today dedicated its signature conference room in its New York office to the late New York Local President and national Vice President Mike Hodge.

In the ceremony overlooking Lincoln Center, SAG-AFTRA EVP and New York Local President Rebecca Damon welcomed Hodge's family and colleagues alongside former Screen Actors Guild President Richard Masur; Screen Actors Guild New York Branch President Sam Freed; NY Local Vice President Jim Kerr; Honors and Tributes Committee Vice-Chair, NY Kevin Scullin; New York Local Executive Director Jeffrey Bennett; Senior Advisor John McGuire; and a host of National and Local Board members.

About her mentor and friend, Damon said, "Mike Hodge was a SAG-AFTRA founder whose legacy lives on in the many leaders and volunteers who carry on the torch of union activism in his footsteps. Mike always stood up for what he believed in and encouraged a generation of performers to do the same."

The newly named Mike Hodge Executive Conference Room honors the memory of a figure who was instrumental in the merger of Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists to form SAG-AFTRA, a feat decades in the making. Hodge served as New York Local President since 2009, became co-president upon merger in 2012, and was re-elected as the first SAG-AFTRA New York Local President in 2013, serving until his death on Sept. 9, 2017.

"Mike Hodge was more than a union leader," said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris. "He was a champion, a fighter for the defenseless, and a voice of reason. He represented the best of SAG-AFTRA."

National Executive Director David White echoed Carteris' sentiments. "Mike was such a dedicated, caring leader who used his considerable gifts and steadfast demeanor to connect with members on a personal level. His ability to help people with disparate opinions find common ground was instrumental to his effectiveness and long tenure in elected leadership. Every day we miss his resounding baritone voice, tremendous smile and generous spirit."

Photo credit: SAG-AFTRA

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