YOUR ASSOCIATION
NEHA NEWS
NEHA 2023 General Election Results Elections are a critical part of the democratic process and are one way in which members have a voice in the running of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA). Voting members of NEHA have an opportunity to vote for candidates of contested board of directors and regional vice-president positions, as well as cast votes regarding proposed Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws changes. National ocers of the NEHA Board of Directors serve a 1-year term in each ocer position (second vice-president, first vice-president, president-elect, president, and immediate past- president) for a total of 5 years. Regional vice-presidents (RVPs) serve 3-year terms. Eligible voters were encouraged to vote during the month of March and the deadline to vote was March 31, 2023. The following are results from the 2023 general election. Second Vice-President There was one qualified candidate for the second vice-president position: Scott Holmes, MS, REHS. Holmes will assume the sec- ond vice-president position at the close of the NEHA 2023 Annual Educational Conference (AEC) & Exhibition. As a national o- cer, Holmes will serve a 5-year term that progresses through the national ocer positions and will serve as NEHA president in 2026–2027. Regional Vice-Presidents Our membership is broken down into nine regions that represent U.S. geographic areas, as well as members in the U.S. military and abroad. The terms of three RVP positions expire in 2023—Region 1: Bill Emminger; Region 5: Traci (Slowinski) Michelson; and Region 7: Tim Hatch. Regions 5 and 7 each had one eligible candidate and did not appear on the election ballot. There were two candidates for Region 1 and our voting members within that region were pro- vided an election ballot to select a candidate. The unopposed can- didates in Regions 5 and 7 and the winner of the Region 1 election will assume their RVP roles at the close of the 2023 AEC. Their terms will expire in 2026: • Region 1: Bill Emminger (represents Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington); • Region 5: Jaime Estes (represents Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas;); and • Region 7: M.L. Tanner (represents Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). A listing of our current national ocers and RVPs, along with state breakdowns for each region, can be found on page 38. More information about our governance, including our Articles of Incor- poration and Bylaws, the election process, and associated dead- lines, is available at www.neha.org/election-process. Thank you to all members who participated in the 2023 election!
Raise Awareness of Local Food Safety You know more than anyone how important food safety is to the health and economy of a community. That is why the Retail Food Safety Regulatory Association Collaborative is sharing its Food Safety Heroes Campaign with you. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the value and importance of food safety and food safety professionals by tell- ing food safety stories from local experts across the country. In April, the Collaborative partners started to share video stories across social media. In addition, the Collaborative will be gather- ing signatures on an open letter that highlights the important work of food safety professionals and calls for support of local health departments. This open letter will become available on the Collab- orative website (www.retailfoodsafetycollaborative.org) to use as a tool when discussing the importance of your work with decision makers in your community. You are invited to share the videos and messages widely with your local communities, including leaders and decision makers. Visit www.retailfoodsafetycollaborative.org/food-safety-heroes to watch the videos, sign the letter, and share the message! NEHA Releases Best Practice Guide for SAFE-D Each of the more than 3,000 environmental public health programs across the country collects and manages aquatic information dif- ferently. The Standard for Aquatic Facility Environments—Data (SAFE-D) model is a standardized format for publishing aquatic facility inspection information across jurisdictions consistently. The design is based on the critical fields within the Model Aquatic Health Code (www.cdc.gov/mahc) and a scan of more than 1,000 environmental health agency inspections. The model has already been tested in four demonstration sites. The SAFE-D model allows jurisdictions to accurately share and compare aquatic facility inspection data from numerous agencies to: • make informed decisions, • share data with your community, and • advocate for support using data. Learn more about SAFE-D and access the best practice guide at www.neha.org/safe-d-best-practices-guide. New Tool Kit Focuses on Top Contaminants in Private Wells Our new Private Well Contaminant Treatment Tool Kit includes fact sheets for each of the five leading private well contami- nants: arsenic, nitrates and nitrites, lead, coliform bacteria, and radon. Each fact sheet describes the health risks posed by these contaminants and the recommended treatments. You can share the link to the tool kit or print the fact sheets to share with your community and private well owners. This resource was developed in collaboration with the Rural Commu- nity Assistance Partnership. View the tool kit at www.neha.org/ private-drinking-water.
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June 2023 • Journal of Environmental Health
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