​We have a unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of safety and health professionals in Southern Oregon. Our Executive Team has an opening for the Communications Coordinator position. In this volunteer position, you will work about 4-6 hours per month setting the pace for chapter communications in our region. You will be responsible for working with our communications sub-committee in assembling the contents for the monthly newsletter and website. You will work with a contract web and newsletter editor to help our award-winning chapter continue to set the bar high. Benefits of joining our team include close association and mentorship with successful safety and health professionals, gaining valuable executive team skills and experience, the possibility of attending a paid trip to the annual leadership conference in Chicago, the opportunity to work into greater roles in our chapter which may provide travel to regional committee meetings in places like San Diego, Anchorage, and Maui, as well as the satisfaction of knowing you are making a difference in the lives of hundreds of members and readers.
 
We will also be looking for another round of people to serve on our committee in December. Our annual recruitment team will meet to begin building the slate of candidates for our May 2020 election ballot.
 
If you are interested in learning more about serving on our team, check out our Executive Committee page and let us know.

The ASSP Award Selection Committee met on September 6th to wade through dozens of thoughtful applications and ultimately decide to honor 34 very worthy groups and individuals.
 
This was the first year that we decided to honor safety committee champions. The idea of this award was to recognize those people every successful safety organization has that serve on a committee, working tirelessly for the safety of their co-workers, even though they may not have a formal safety title or positional authority. These people encourage a strong safety culture by their attitude and enthusiasm. We were totally surprised when we received 10 applications for this award! Apparently, this topic hit a nerve as 10 people decided to nominate a very special safety champion from their organization. As it turned out, these candidates were so amazing that we decided to honor four individuals!
 
We will also give out 3 Livesaving Awards, 1 Business Leader Who Gets It Award, 2 Outstanding Safety and Health Awards, 22 Safety Committee Recognition Awards, 1 Best of the Best Safety Committee Award, and 1 Safety Professional of the Year Award.
 
You won’t want to miss this exciting event as Jared Hill, our emcee, and David Hanson, conference chair, present these well-deserved awards on the morning of October 17th, 2019, at Ashland Hills Hotel Ballroom. Register now and join us for this great event! Visit our Conference page for registration information.
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President’s Message
Ladies and gentlemen, don’t look now, but fall is coming and so is the Southern Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Conference! I am excited for another great conference where a host of wonderful speakers covering a large variety of topics come together to share vital safety knowledge that truly helps Southern Oregon to be a safer place to work. From the professional development day on the 15th of October, to the two days of breakout sessions on the 16th and 17th, there are a lot of opportunities to learn and network for safety insight. Having the conference at the Ashland Hills Hotel in Ashland provides a great back drop to a fun, learning environment.
 
As we have learned over the years, there are very few opportunities for local companies to find low-cost, but high-quality, learning opportunities in the area – especially with such variety. In partnership with Oregon OSHA, the Southern Oregon Chapter of the American Society of Safety Professionals meets the goal of providing these learning opportunities, so companies can meet regulatory compliance such as is required of safety committees. But it also enhances the goal by providing advanced safety classes as well. There are classes for the H.R. professionals. There are classes on improving worker health. There are classes on safety program development. As always, there are classes for safety committee members to learn more about creating a highly functioning safety committee. General safety, construction safety, health programs, and human resources round out the variety of classes offered. 
 
We hope to see you there because we know that we have programs for all companies, but we also know that you can bring best practices, networking, and sharing that makes us all better. You make this conference even better!

If you are a first-time attendee, come with a desire to learn and make new friends. If you are a regular attendee, we look forward to seeing you back again. Either way, perhaps you may even wish to get plugged in with the safety community to help bring the conference every year or to participate in other safety goings on in the community. We will be happy to see you and to have you on board as we build a solid safety footprint in our region.
 
Chris Lawrence
President, ASSP – Southern Oregon Chapter
 
​With over 20 years in occupational safety and health, Chris Lawrence is a retired US Air Force Safety Professional who is the current Regional Safety Manager for Boise Cascade.