YOUR ASSOCIATION
NEHA NEWS
NEHA 2024 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). Our mem- bers have an opportunity to vote for candidates of contested board 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, 2024. The following are results from the 2024 general election. Second Vice-President There was one qualified candidate for the second vice-president position: Michele DiMaggio, REHS. DiMaggio will assume the sec- ond vice-president position at the close of the NEHA 2024 Annual Educational Conference (AEC) & Exhibition. As a national o- cer, DiMaggio will serve a 5-year term that progresses through the national ocer positions and will serve as NEHA president in 2027–2028. 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. uniformed services and abroad. The terms of three RVP positions expire in 2024—Region 2, Region 3, and Region 8. Regions 2 and 8 each had one eligible candidate and did not appear on the election ballot. There were two candidates for Region 3 and our voting members within that region were pro- vided an election ballot to select a candidate. The unopposed can- didates in Regions 2 and 8 and the winner of the Region 3 election will assume their RVP roles at the close of the 2024 AEC. Their terms will expire in 2027: • Region 2: Matthew Weinburke, MPH, DrPH, REHS, MCHES (represents Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada); • Region 3: Chris Manley, REHS, (represents Colorado, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and all members residing outside the U.S. with the exception of members of the U.S. uniformed services); and • Region 8: CDR James Speckhart, MS, REHS, USPHS (represents Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC, West Virginia, and members of the U.S. uniformed services residing outside of the U.S.). A listing of current NEHA national ocers and RVPs, along with state breakdowns for each region, can be found on page 42. More information about our governance, including our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, the election processes, and associated deadlines, is available at www.neha.org/election-process.
Thank you to the candidates and members who participated in the 2024 election!
7th Annual Hill Day a Success By Doug Farquhar (dfarquhar@neha.org)
We held our 7th annual Hill Day on March 28, 2024, with a new twist. Instead of only our board members meeting with Congress, this year we had our members join us, allowing us to meet with congressional delegations from 18 states. This time was the first that we invited members to Hill Day, which gave us the advan- tage of having Congress hear directly from their constituents about environmental health in their states.
Our delegation of members, board representatives, and sta for our 2024 Hill Day. Hill Day is our opportunity to introduce and enlighten members of Congress—from both the House of Representatives and Sen- ate—about environmental health in their states, how environmen- tal health impacts their constituents, and ways to improve federal environmental health services to state and local communities. In the context of national politics, these visits are essential to any workforce seeking to promote their profession. Congress pays attention to those groups that actively promote their profession and supports funding for federal agencies and activities that provide for their profession. Congress needs to hear and know that these e£orts have an impact on their constituents and communities. For the first time since the pandemic, we were able to host Hill Day in person, meaning our members and board paid to travel to Washington, DC, to meet with their members of Congress. We hosted an orientation and reception (sponsored by NSF) at the Hilton Washington Capitol Hill on Wednesday, March 27, followed by visits to Capitol Hill on Thursday, March 28. By the end of the day, 46 NEHA members (including 6 board members) visited 83 con- gressional oces from 18 di£erent states. We visited 30 Senate oces and 53 House oces. Further, these visits included 47 Democratic oces and 36 Republican oces. Iowa, Texas, and Virginia sent the largest delegations, allow- ing Iowa to meet almost their entire congressional delegation and
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Volume 86 • Number 10
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