YOUR ASSOCIATION
NEHA NEWS
Call for Nominations By Katherine Bailey (kbailey@neha.org)
3-year cycle we have been awarded to assist jurisdictions in pre- venting foodborne illness. “We are honored to lead this transformative program to improve food safety,” said Dr. David Dyjack, NEHA executive director and CEO. “Receiving this award reflects the dedication of our team, governmental retail food safety professionals, and the collective outcomes of our first 3-year grant cycle.” The NEHA-FDA Retail Flexible Funding Model (RFFM) Grant Program is designed to support jurisdictions to align their retail food safety practices with the FDA Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Program Standards). Aligning with the Program Standards is one of the most important steps a juris- diction can take to advance retail food safety. The NEHA model combines three previous grant programs into one to make the approaches for grantees more flexible and responsive to the capacity and ambitions of jurisdictions. In the first 3-year grant cycle, the program provided nearly $25 million to 375 unique jurisdictions across 46 states to improve their retail food safety practices and ultimately protect their communities from foodborne illness. The FDA award is the second substantial federal cooperative agreement NEHA has been awarded in 2024, following a competi- tive 5-year award from the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tion in July to support the knowledge, skills, and expertise of the environmental public health workforce. “These investments demonstrate the trust federal agencies have in our ability to partner and collaborate with state, local, territo- rial, and tribal jurisdictions to bring about profound public health improvements,” said Dr. Dyjack. The NEHA-FDA RFFM Grant Portal for both 1-year and 3-year grants will be open until November 20 . Infomation about the application process, training, deadlines, and resources avail- able to applicants can be found on our website at www.neha.org/ retail-grants. New Aliate in Pennsylvania Congratulations to the Pennsylvania Environmental Health Association (PEHA) on becoming our newest aliate. During our Board of Directors meeting at the 2024 AEC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the secretary of PEHA presented their petition and supporting paperwork. Our board unanimously voted to accept them as our newest aliate. This milestone is exciting as it marks the beginning of a new era for environmental health profession- als in Pennsylvania. The formation of an aliate signifies the commitment to a state’s environmental health workforce and brings together like-minded individuals who share a common goal. This aliate will serve as a hub for networking, professional development, and community engagement, echoing more locally the mission of NEHA to build, sustain, and empower an eective environmental health workforce.
The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) is gov- erned by a Board of Directors who oversee the aairs of the asso- ciation. There will be four board positions up for election in 2025: • Second vice-president (national ocer; 5-year term that pro- gresses through the national oces and will serve as NEHA president in 2028–2029) • Region 4 vice-president (represents Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) • Region 6 vice-president (represents Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio) • Region 9 vice-president (represents Connecticut, Maine, Massa- chusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont) We seek diversity on our board in terms of gender, race and ethnicity, and a balance between regulatory ocials, academia, and industry. Most importantly, we want people who will help us develop new strategic visions; have experience managing diverse organizations; and can open doors for our organization in building relationships with industry, academia, federal and state agencies, foundations, and other associations. Requirements to serve on the board include: • Membership with NEHA (Professional or Life) for three con- secutive years prior to assuming oce on July 17, 2025, at our 2025 Annual Educational Conference (AEC) & Exhibition. • Not simultaneously holding a voting position on the board of a NEHA aliate. • Endorsement by at least five voting members of NEHA (from members residing in the region for regional vice-president can- didates and from members residing in at least three dierent regions for second vice-president candidates). Per our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, two classes of membership have voting privileges: Professional and Life. • Willingness to commit the time necessary to actively serve on the board. If you are interested in serving on our Board of Directors, please visit www.neha.org/election-process for information on the nomi- nation and election process. You can also contact Immediate Past- President Tom Butts, chairperson of our Governance and Nomi- nations Committee, at tbutts@neha.org. The deadline to submit a nomination is December 1 . We Were Awarded a Cooperative Agreement to Advance Retail Food Safety In mid-September, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) awarded us with a cooperative agreement to partner with govern- mental environmental health programs in state, local, territorial, and tribal jurisdictions nationwide to strengthen their regulatory retail food programs and practices. The funding is the second
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Volume 87 • Number 4
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