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President's Message - January 2010

Happy New Year!

I hope the holidays were good to everyone and that you’re all ready for a great 2010. We’re at the halfway point of our ASSE chapter year and it’s been a good one thus far. I would like to thank everyone who attended the November meeting at American Express and the December social at Natty Greene’s. Both events were a big success, especially Todd Beck’s eye-opening presentation on Homeland Security. Thanks, Todd.

Our next meeting will be on January 19 and feature Shannon Backus discussing the Weight of America initiative. Shannon attended the first national conference on this topic in Washington, D.C. earlier this year and he has some illuminating information to share with us. More specifically, Shannon tells us “Obesity creates unique challenges to ensuring workplace safety and injured workers that are considered obese (Body Mass Index greater than 30%) have significantly higher costs associated with their work-related injuries. This session will explore the implications of obesity and the impact on workers’ compensation claims. Attendees will learn what the Insurance Institute of America and National Council on Compensation Insurance have identified as some alarming trends. Data from the Center for Disease control’s “Weight of the Nation” Conference will be provided. Shannon will be presenting this topic at Safety 2010 in Baltimore, so you have the opportunity to see this “sneak preview” before it is unveiled to the rest of ASSE.

There is an important chapter item that needs to be addressed. If you remember about this same time last year, the President-Elect position opened up and no one came forward to fill this position. I agreed to serve as chapter President for a second consecutive year. We have the same situation again this year. The position of President is designed as a yearly rotation, giving different members of the chapter an opportunity to serve in this important capacity. While the President leads the chapter for twelve months, this is far from a one-person job. We currently have an Executive Committee of thirteen individuals that works as a team to manage the affairs of the chapter. You couldn’t ask for a better group of people. Serving as President with these people is an honor. The work is distributed among the committee members, providing the President the opportunity to truly lead. I’ve enjoyed my tenure as President but, unlike our Congress, we have term limitations. I plan to stay active on the Executive Committee as do virtually all of the current members. We’re looking for someone to step up, take a chance, and enjoy the rewards of the chapter Presidency. Is this you?

There are a number of ASSE opportunities coming in the next few months. On the chapter level, the February meeting will be held jointly with the student chapter on the North Carolina A&T University campus. This luncheon meeting on February 16 will feature students describing their experiences as interns at various businesses around the Southeast. I encourage everyone to support the students by attending this informative meeting. In March we will have our annual plant tour. We are working with a couple of employers now, but if anyone has a great location in mind or would like to host a tour, please let us know.

In addition to our monthly technical meetings, we’re planning a couple of events for the balance of the chapter year. The first is a bowling tournament slated for February 24. Our Public Relations Chair, Jane Owens, is working with the committee and the student chapter to schedule an afternoon tournament. The second event will be a golf tournament that will take place in May or June. If you’re a bowler or golfer we would love for you to join us. We’ll be sending updated information as soon as it’s available.

On the national level, there are several big events on the schedule. The annual SeminarFest in Las Vegas will be held on February 14-20. If you’ve never attend this event, it’s one of those rare opportunities to obtain a wealth of information on a specific topic of interest. There will be over 50 seminars, ranging from one to three days in length, taught by some of the top professionals in the safety and health field. The next event is a Safety Management Symposium, “Delivering Safety Results in Changing Times,” which will take place March 11-12 in Scottsdale, Arizona. I will be speaking at this event and I invite you to join me as we align SH&E activity to assist your organization in progressing beyond the current economic challenges.

Sincerely,

Ron Graves, Triad Chapter President

© 2008-2009 Triad Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers