NEHA Green Book

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

From the 30 Year History, all consecutive issues of the Journal of Environmental Health from January 1965 to July 1980, and from 15 years of Annual Conference reports, comes this account of how the National Environmental Health Association's Executive Committee evolved. The 1962 Bylaws specified that the Executive Committee as noted in Article VII, Section 3 (a), shall consist of five Registered Members of the National Association, of which a Regional Vice President and the Treasurer of the National Association shall be two members. The three appointive members of the Executive Committee shall serve for a period of three years on a rotating basis, with the term of office expiring at the close of the Annual General Assembly. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment. If a vacancy should occur between Board meetings, and an appointment is necessary in order for the Executive Committee to function properly, then the President may appoint a Registered Member to fill the vacancy until the next Board meeting. The committee shall be responsible to the Board of Directors for conducting business of the National Association. This committee shall make an annual report at the final Board meeting, and the General Assembly of each year. In 1968, the Executive Committee included John Todd (Past President 1965-66) as chairman, a position he held until a 1970 Bylaws change. The 1970 Bylaws revision changed the Executive Committee composition to nine members, including the five nationally elected officers, the elected Treasurer, two members of the original committee and a Regional Vice President. The non-elected members were appointed annually by the President. In the spring of 1973, a milestone was passed when the Executive Committee invited all the Regional Vice Presidents to attend the fall Executive Committee meeting in Denver, Colorado. Several did attend. At the Board of Directors meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1973, a Bylaws revision provided for still another structure for the Executive Committee: The five nationally elected officers, the elected Treasurer and the eleven Regional Vice Presidents; eliminating the appointed members. This gave regional representation to the Executive Committee. Again, a Bylaws change affected the Executive Committee, when in 1977 the Associa tion changed the geographical regions, reducing the number from eleven to nine, and then in 1979, the Executive Committee was reduced by one member when the position of Treasurer was removed from the roster of elected offices. That position was made one of "employed" by the association. The current Executive Committee is composed of the five national officers and the nine Regional Vice Presidents. The President serves as chairman. The Executive Committee meets as a body twice each year and once by telephone conference. The duties and responsibilities of the Executive Committee were expanded by 1983 mail ballot revision of the Constitution and Bylaws of the National Environmental Health Association.