Jim Davison Honored with Legislative Advocacy Award

WAITSBURG - Retired Waitsburg School District teachers Jim Davison, Liv Leid, Roseann Groom, and retired Prescott teacher Susan DeRuwe attended the 2026 Washington State School Retirees' Association State Convention on June 8-10.

At the convention, Davison was honored with the Ester Wilfong Award. He was nominated by the Walla Walla-Columbia School and the Benton Franklin School Retirees' Associations.

The Ester Wilfong Legislative Advocacy Award is presented to a WSSRA member who has demonstrated efforts on behalf of WSSRA for pension and healthcare advocacy.  The member must have multiple years of advocacy work with legislators or organizing retirees for legislative action at the state or local unit level.  The member must have demonstrated advocacy work towards achieving WSSRA legislative priorities.

"Jim Davison has a long history of advocacy, serving on the Unit 31 legislative committee since 2011 and as the E-8 legislative representative since 2017," said Roseanne Groom, President-elect of WWCSRA. "He continuously keeps local members informed on legislative progress via email and monthly luncheons. He recently stepped up to protect local retirees by researching and presenting alternative options when a regional hospital district stopped accepting a Washington State Health Care Authority plan."

Groom acknowledged Davison's advocacy and persistent public relations campaign targeting the need for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for public employee retirement "Plan 1" systems, including The Public Employees' Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement System. The PERS 1 and TRS 1 systems are closed, lifetime defined-benefit pension plans administered by Washington State's Department of Retirement Systems for public employees who joined on or before October 1, 1977.

"In addition to traveling directly to Olympia to lobby, Davison authored numerous letters to the editors of Eastern Washington newspapers to raise public awareness," said Groom.

"This relentless advocacy was instrumental in working with Senator Perry Dozier (R, Waitsburg) to secure passage of SSB 5862, which will provide TRS 1 and PERS 1 retirees with a COLA in July 2026."

At the convention, Perry Dozier was honored as one of three Washington state legislators for his advocacy on behalf of Washington State School Retirees.  Dozier will receive his award at the local unit luncheon in October.