YOUR ASSOCIATION
NEHA NEWS
A Note of Thanks to Our Departing Board Members
board and sta leadership. Also developed at the end of this pro- cess were proposed revisions to the organization’s bylaws. As Butts stated, “The work on the policy manual was tedious, but we owe each of the board members a big thank you for the eort to get to this point and the continued contributions that will be needed to improve that living board guidance document.” During his tenure on the board, it was important to ensure con- tinued support for and recognition of environmental public health practitioners and the key role they play in protecting communities from adverse health impacts. Butts hopes he was able to encourage an active role for environmental health professionals as evidence- based policy advocates. Additionally, he believes NEHA must seek ways to engage with newer sta to translate their enthusiasm, skills, and abilities into program and systems improvements in our environmental health practice and continue working to address climate change. Butts believes that a new focus on this part of the profession by NEHA is on the mark. Butts further believes there are many milestones the NEHA sta have accomplished that will continue to provide value. Some of these examples include the commitment to world-class education, the open-access Journal , and sharpening the focus on engaging students in the environmental health workforce. Butts has spent more than 30 years in the environmental health field. He earned a bachelor of science in environmental health from Colorado State University and a master of science in environmental science and engineering from Colorado School of Mines. He started his long career at the Tri-County Health Department as an environ- mental health specialist conducting a wide range of environmental health activities such as conducting inspections of individual sew- age disposal systems, water supplies, restaurants, childcare centers, swimming pools, disease outbreaks, solid and hazardous waste com- plaints, and insect- and rodent-related complaints. Butts then spent 15 years working with hazardous waste gen- erators, spill response, household chemical collection programs, and local oversight of hazardous waste cleanups. In 2002, he was selected to lead the agency’s new emergency preparedness and response program, where he played a key role in developing agency and regional response plans with sta and local and state agencies. Environmental health sta play key roles in all-hazard incident management and during response and recovery from nat- ural disasters and other events He served as director of environmental health in 2008. For over 4 years, he managed programs including food safety, childcare, recre- ational waters, onsite wastewater treatment, vector control, body art, land use planning, and a variety of solid and hazardous waste activi- ties. In this position, Butts actively worked with local agency peers across the state and with key state sta on program issues of both local and statewide interest to environmental public health. These eorts led to statute changes for food safety and onsite wastewa- ter management programs. He also served the Colorado Directors
The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) is for- tunate to have members who are willing to volunteer their time and energy to our organization through positions within our Board of Directors and on committees and work groups. Our board members also serve as subject matter experts, trainers, and peer reviewers for the organization. We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the dedication and hard work of two board members on the occasion of their departure from the board: Immediate Past- President Tom Butts and Region 4 Vice-President Kim Carlton.
Immediate Past-President Tom Butts, MSc, REHS, leaves the board after 5 years of dedicated service and leadership. In 2020, he was elected as second vice-president and served as a national ocer from 2020–2025 and as president of the association from 2023–2024. During this time, Butts was on numerous committees such as Finance, Policy and Bylaws, Mem-
bership, Endowment, and Nominations. He also chaired the ad- hoc Siting (not sitting) Committee that included board and sta members and addressed the path forward for NEHA’s facility needs as our lease renewal was coming up. This committee evalu- ated a range of operation models and recommended moving to the smaller Denver oce that NEHA now occupies. Butts most recently served on the Governance and Nominations Committee, where all involved wrapped up work on updating the policy man- ual for the board, addressed ongoing organizational needs, and oversaw the nomination process for our annual election. As he reflected on the past 5 years (joining board calls as COVID- 19 ramped up in spring 2020), Butts feels the experience has been an exciting and challenging journey from the start. The organization did an amazing job pivoting to a fully virtual AEC in 2021 and never missed an opportunity to support the profession along the way. A board retreat provided the group with an opportunity to connect, listen, and learn. It opened the discussion we are still having today about our primary focus and the multitude of other should or could do activities that would benefit our membership and the profession. During his year as president, Butts worked with the board, a consultant, and executive leadership to create a Board Policy Man- ual to guide the board into the future. During this process, there were numerous interesting and challenging discussions with the board on how to create the right approach to board operations as NEHA continues to evolve to serve members and the profession. Butts is proud that this board committed the extra time, thought, and eort needed to develop a manual that will empower both our
60
Volume 88 • Number 2
https://doi.org/10.70387/001c.144016
Powered by FlippingBook