104 Concurrent with the employment of more and more sanitarians and technologists by fast-food and supermarket chains, food manufacturers, chemical manufacturers and con sulting firms, there has been a notable increase in the ranks of NEHA's voting members who represent individual companies and corporations. As the percentage of NEHA's total membership, these industry members still represent a modest group but they bring a needed and valuable perspective to the Association's committees, programs and publications. In addition to the financial support derived by NEHA from exhibitors and advertisers, there have been other notable industry contributions over the years through sponsor ship of scholarships, curriculum conferences, awards and award plaques, program booklet advertising and annual meeting events that were not entirely self-supporting. Although a reasonably complete listing of all such contributors would be difficult to draw up after 50 years, it is worth noting that the rewards have been largely intangible - good will and a desire to see NEHA continue in its direction and goals. The author of this portion of the Association's 50-year history became an exhibitor for the first time in 1960 at the San Francisco Annual Educational Conference and exhibited every year until retirement in 1986. (NAMA continues to exhibit.) Then as now, the exhibit mix included product and services suppliers, industry associations, federal and state agencies, academic institutions, non-profit health organizations and state affiliates (future host affiliates). Until recently, there was no formal NEHA industry group, either among the sanitarian members employed in industry or among the exhibitors. During or after those annual exhibits at which there were problems the exhibitors would convene at someone's booth and prepare whatever suggestions to the NEHA staff that were agreed upon. For many years, the late John Thielke of Economics Laboratory served as the unofficial group convenor and spokesman. A development within the past three years has been a post exhibition meeting between exhibitor representatives and the officers and staff of NEHA. It is designed to solve the problems ahead of the next annual meeting.
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