February 2017 President’s Message

Welcome everyone to a great start to the new year. We have been busier than ever understanding some of the OSHA rule changes relative to beryllium, crystalline silica, electronic recordkeeping, etc.; anticipating changes by the new Trump administration in enforcement and consultation; and changes in leadership at AIHA. NJAIHA congratulates Larry Sloan, AIHA CEO, and the appointment of Mark Ames as AIHA’s new director, government relations. Among Mark’s priorities will be an enhanced focus on addressing the needs of the local sections from the perspective of keeping abreast of the rapidly evolving rubric of state regulations and laws impacting industrial hygiene.

The NJAIHA Executive Committee continues to solicit help of our membership to meet our 2016-2017 goals and objectives set forth in the action plan. Some of our members are reaching out to local high schools and talking about the NJ Youth@Work Talking Safety program. This is the time of giving back to our profession. Many school administrators and faculty members see the value of lesson but they are afraid of the commitment on an annual basis. The youth health and safety message can be presented in a 45-minute classroom period and it should be delivered annually to remind students, who are seeking employment, that health and safety is important both at work (e.g., summer job, parttime work during school, and selecting a trade after graduation) and apply these concepts in everything that they do for recreation, vacation, hobbies, and other personal initiatives. If you want to become an Outreach Coordinator and present to school districts, please contact Candice Kowalewski.

We want you to continue collaborating, networking and learning at the monthly dinner meetings! The Executive Committee continues to work hard to engage our membership and cover the current topics of interest. NJAIHA continues offering the members the “Loyalty Rewards Program”. Members who attend any five (5) dinner meetings will get the 6th dinner free!! Loyalty rewards are tracked by having your wallet card autographed at each dinner meeting. Also, if you sign up any five (5) new or former members in our “Member Get-a-Member” program, NJAIHA will offer you a free dinner at any one of the monthly meetings. It is important to note that there are no time constraints for either program. Contact Candice Kowalewski with any questions.

You may have seen our continuous postings on social media – Facebook and Linkedin. Our objective is to connect more with our members on topics of interest and begin a deep dive by talking about the issues that affects the workforce, public, or environment. Recently we have posted a number of jobs opportunities on Linkedin to complement the learning process. There are many useful peer-reviewed articles and other nationally recognized resources, which may be of interest to our members. Alternatively, NJAIHA encourages members to contribute beneficial information about the profession, interesting subject matter for learning, upcoming events, and posting other exciting job opportunities.

NJAIHA continues to seek more vendors to advertise in our monthly newsletter and website, and help sponsor our monthly dinner meetings. As a bonus for advertising, we will promote your business by posting your information on Facebook. You may recall but NJAIHA promoted the corporate sponsors and exhibiting vendors who participated in the NEIHce before, during, and after the event. Advertising helps connect business opportunities with our membership. If you would like to advertise, complete an application on the website. Jack Zybura can provide more information about posting any information to the website or social media.

As a reminder, student scholarship applications for the AIHA Foundation are due in Feb 2017. We sent our members an email announcement and posted the opportunity on social media. If you are an AIHA national member, the information is available on their website. We also need your support for the upcoming 2017 NJAIHA student scholarships. We continue to sell the piqué polo shirts with the NJAIHA logo to raise revenue to support the student scholarships. So far, we have been successful in holding our pricing so more NJAIHA members can afford these items. These shirts can be worn to any NJAIHA venue and they make a great gift. If you want to make a purchase, contact Craig Doolittle or visit the NJAIHA website.

The NJAIHA Executive Committee continues to update the bylaws and the operations manual in 2017. Both of these important documents have not been updated since 2013. Bylaws represent the written rules for conduct of the Executive Committee. One area of interest is deeper understanding of conflict of interest and fiduciary responsibilities by NJAIHA Executive Committee members. The operations manual helps us construct the framework to meet the policy requirements established in the bylaws. If anyone wants to work on either of these documents, contact Hank Shotwell.

NJAIHA participates in the quarterly NJ State Industrial Safety Committee (NJSISC) business meetings. In Dec 2016, a conflict of interest arose in the administration of regional dinner meetings for the annual safety awards. Since NJSISC is an extension of the State of NJ, it cannot raise revenue and the State of NJ has not appropriated funding to hold the dinner meetings. In order to continue a long-standing tradition of the NJSISC award ceremonies; the State of NJ offered several suggestions for NJSISC to either operate as a nonprofit or collaborate with all of the participatory NJ nonprofits to host the dinner meetings and award ceremonies. NJAIHA is collaborating with NJSISC to determine the best approach More information will be provided as management decisions are derived on how to resolve this matter.

The business value of industrial hygiene and safety is being recognized more in business as a tool for risk management, advancement of technology, and a driver for economic, social, and governance of the workforce, public, and environment. We seek input from the NJAIHA membership to collaborate more with our neighboring local sections. Philadelphia, Metro NY, and NJ sections of AIHA agreed to post each other dinner meeting announcements. NJASSE and MABSA are interested in sharing more information on occupational health and safety. The objective herein is to provide better collaboration and coordination of regional learning and job opportunities for the membership of each local section or chapter. If you want to help coordinate NJAIHA information and events, please contact Craig Doolittle.

In closing, I hope to see you and a friend at the Thursday, February 16th dinner meeting at Snuffy’s! Look for the email announcement and/or posting on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Best Regards,
Bernard L. Fontaine, Jr., CIH, CSP, FAIHA
President NJAIHA