President’s Message

Message From the President June ’23

   I would like to thank the membership for the opportunity to allow me to act as your President of the Alabama Chapter of the American Society of Safety Professionals for the next two years. I would like to thank our outgoing President Paul Thurber, now Past President, for his service the past 2 years and a special thank you to Ms. Allyn Holladay Wyman (Treasurer), Mr. Justin Shepherd (Vice President), and Vincent Scott (Secretary) for their continued leadership for the two years.

   The Chapter will offer a professional development conference (half or full day) hopefully this fall. One possible conference format would be to think out of the box and do a conference on company/personal identity theft issues. We would need to find one or several presenters who can offer an interesting perspective on this important issue facing employers and employees. If you know of anyone who could possibly conduct these presentations let the leadership know. The cost for this conference would be minimal and we would market vendors to help pay for breakfast/lunch for this conference. Continuing education points for your certifications would be provided.

   The Alabama Chapter would also like to recognize our long-standing and new members by holding an appreciation banquet, Plan on attending this event during our April 2024 meeting.

   Finally, I would like to bring back scholarships to the Universities that offer Safety and Health Programs in Alabama, Auburn University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Jacksonville State. We used to offer scholarships to a student in one of the programs at each university and think it would be important to start this tradition again. Hopefully we will be able to offer scholarships by the end of spring 2024.

   Have a great and safe June and hope to see you at the June 16, 2023 Alabama Chapter meeting.

Thomas Ten Eyck, CSP
President Elect

Message From the President Apr May ’23

Greetings Friends!

   I hope and trust this letter finds you well. It’s been a rollercoaster lately with various illnesses in the news. I’ve been hearing of greater flu counts, more Covid, and a whole lot of sinus related issues throughout my travels of late. So, stay on-guard in an attempt to protect yourselves, your family, and your co-workers.

   I had the pleasure of seeing several of our Chapter members at the Region IV PDC in Tuscaloosa. As I understand, it was a huge success and I’ve heard quite a few bits of positive feedback already. Thanks to everyone that participated.

   For the construction members among us, we’ve been asked to help. Please click on the links below to help Lee with his dissertation.

Afternoon, Paul

I am a member of the Alabama Chapter of the ASSP.  Needing some advice and or help.  I am currently enrolled at Capital Technology University in the Ph.D. OHS.  For my dissertation, I have a simple three-question questionnaire focused on construction.  What would be the best way to get the survey to ASSP members in construction?

Thank you, Lee

For reference:

By clicking on the link below this will take you to the survey:
State-Legalized Marijuana the Effects on Construction Safety Survey

Or copy-paste the link below into your browser:
https://forms.office.com/r/5DB6GwUGg6

   It’s election time as well. By now, you should have received a ballot. Please complete it accordingly. I have thoroughly enjoyed serving as your President; however, I’m also looking forward to attending as a member-at-large once my service is complete. We’ve built our attendance back up post-pandemic, so let’s continue to attend in person as our schedules permit.

   As for my safety minute/challenge this morning, please remember to guard against illness including heat. Our position in safety should include health as well. Let’s make it a point to teach about hydration and its importance in making our bodies operate correctly. Remember, our muscles, minds, and movement require water. (hydration)

  I will be traveling to my daughter’s graduation from Army basic training at Fort Jackson, SC on the 19th, so I will unfortunately miss seeing you all then. Until our next, let’s all be safe on purpose!

Paul

Paul Thurber
President – ASSP Alabama Chapter
paul@everguard.ai
334-247-5170

Message From the President Feb Mar ’23

Greetings to All!  

    It’s hard to believe that we’re nearing the end of the 2023 first quarter already. Vincent has put together a very full newsletter this month, so please take a few minutes to review all the upcoming happenings and/or opportunities to get involved.

   Our meeting this month is on Friday the 17th. Please plan to attend if your schedules permit. Remember, we still offer an online attendance, but we’d much rather have you in person. Please register and I’ll plan to see you there.

   Has everyone signed up for the upcoming Regional PDC to be held in Tuscaloosa at the Bryant Conference Center? Vincent has more information on this available in the body of the newsletter. In addition, you’ll see the proposed upcoming slate of officers, speakers, and opportunities for the Chapter.

  As for my safety minute/challenge this morning, please remember to say something when we see something. More often than not, we fix things without saying something. Go ahead and fix the hazard or hazardous conditions; however, also remember to report the event so everyone can be on the lookout for similar occurrences. In some safety cultures, the recognized hazard might be considered a near miss and we all know our programs improve when near misses are reported and acted upon as if an injury occurred.

   I hope to see you on the 17th. Until then, let’s all be safe on purpose!

Paul

Paul Thurber
President – ASSP Alabama Chapter
paul@everguard.ai
334-247-5170

Message From the President January ’23

Happy New Year Everyone!  

    Hopefully everyone had a safe and successful conclusion to 2022 and are already plugged-in with resolutions for an even better 2023. We’ll have great times ahead and I’m looking forward to getting together on the 20th (more on that later). Please try to make plans to join us if your schedules allow. The challenge/opportunity for each of us this year is to get more involved in everything we do. Our “in-person” numbers have declined a bit; however, we all believe the new year will bring new life to the Chapter and we need everyone to make this belief a reality. By the way, thanks for everyone’s involvement last year with the ASSP. We rebounded post-covid nicely and have even enjoyed watching our Auburn Section and the WISE ladies really come to life over there to our West. Special thanks to both Tina and Allison for all you continue to do. Kudos to Tom and team down in Tuscaloosa at the Tuscaloosa/West Alabama Section as well, that section continues to be a strong hold for the Chapter, and we appreciate everyone’s associated efforts. Just to sum up this first paragraph, I’d like to leave us with one word – GRATITUDE. Rest assured, I’m thankful for each of you.

   We’ve had some great times in the past couple months with after hours events, training meetings, mini-expos, and more. If you didn’t get a chance to participate, you’ll have more opportunities approaching in the not-so-distant future. In fact, we’ll have our first chance on the 20th for a lunch meeting at the AGC building in Birmingham at 11:30.  Again, please try to attend in person if your schedule allows it.

   We are also finalizing the details of the upcoming Regional PDC to be held in Tuscaloosa this year at the Bryant Conference Center. We’ll be discussing and posting links in the very near future for signing up. You actually may have seen something already. This will be a great opportunity to network on a more regional front.

   As always, let’s all remember to make an effort to improve ourselves as well as in assisting others to grow.     Thanks again for everything you do in relation to safety.

See you soon…

Paul

Paul Thurber
President – ASSP Alabama Chapter
paul@everguard.ai
334-247-5170

Message From the President November ’22

Hi everybody,

Paul sends his appolgies. Not able to get a letter out to you right now but wants us to be informed of upcoming events. You may hear from him later as we close out the year.

There will be no Chapter Meeting this month. There are still many opportunities to network and support the Sections and the WISE Chapter activities. If this is the first you are hearing about them, you may want to ask to be placed on their mailing lists using their contact information.

We’ve got lots in this newsletter. There is a link to a recording of our latest meeting. Let me know if you have anything that we should include in upcoming newsletters.

Your Secretary,

Vincent