2018 NJSPBA Valor Awards
Colligan and Kaniuk rose through the State PBA Executive
Board at the same time, so the president knew from past expe-
riences how much he could call on Kaniuk. And as Colligan as-
cended to leading the State PBA, Kaniuk began to call on him.
“I feel I’m one of Pat’s biggest supporters, but I’m also one of
his biggest critics,” Kaniuk asserts. This is a telling statement be-
cause it seems to balance two of his most endearing qualities –
advocating for a position he believes in passionately and never
compromising his relentless loyalty.
“You’re not going to forget where you come from if I’m still
around,” he continues. “That’s my opinion. That’s the way I roll.
That’s how I will always be. I realize that sometimes you have to
make a decision that no one likes. But I’m a loyal guy. I’ve always
been loyal. And I think that’s what Pat and (Executive Vice Presi-
dent) Marc (Kovar) will say: That I’m a loyal guy.”
So if you hear Kaniuk from behind closed doors raising his
voice, know that he’s fighting passionately for the PBA. He’s been
known to do that with a certain Middlesex County Corrections
lieutenant, as well as with the state president.
“Listen, you might not agree with me, and I might not agree
with you. We could yell and scream at each other but once it’s
over, we move on to another fight.”
Dana says that she sees her husband at his most passionate
when there is PBA work to be done. Visit the PBA headquarters
in Woodbridge 10 times, and on eight of those occasions you will
probably find Kaniuk in residence, attending – or more likely
leading – a committee meeting or working on one of the multi-
tude of projects he has going.
“He’s always like, ‘I’ve got an LPP meeting today,’” Dana says
in relating Mike’s excitement when there is work to be done. “If I
say, ‘Mike, relax. Let’s hang out. Let’s watch some television.’ He’s
like, ‘No, no. Pat needs me. Or this one needs me.’ This is what he
loves. This is what he absolutely loves.”
Quite simply, Kaniuk seems to roll with the intensity that
makes State PBA executive board members go above and be-
yond the call. And even though the call seems to come 24/7, Ka-
niuk lives for that call.
He has earned Executive Board Member of the Year distinc-
tion because he wants to be the guy that people call for help. He
prides himself on answering the call as quickly as he can to get
the job done, and get it done well.
That has not gone unnoticed.
“Mike is not about himself, he’s about the people. He works for
the whole, and he’s the kind of guy you want on the team,” com-
ments Mercer County Corrections Officer Local 167 State Del-
egate Winslow Land, the co-chair of the State PBA Corrections
Committee who counts Kaniuk as one of his most influential
mentors. “Mike’s got a big heart for everybody. You ask him to
do something and it’s no questions asked. He might look like a
typical corrections officer, but he’s a big teddy bear.”
The greatest honor Kaniuk would like for being named Execu-
tive Board Member of the Year is to inspire other members to feel
the pride of taking care of their members.
“The work you put into it is the pride you get out of it,” Ka-
niuk advises. “The work is hard. It’s not an easy job. You get the
phone calls at 3 or 4 in the morning and you gotta go. To me,
that’s the pride in doing what I do. And if you do the work, the
people around you will be proud, too.”
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