
What an interesting time this has been. There are so many things going on in our world that it seems like time is just a blur. We had a great safety conference last October and then it seems like paths of life started to go in all different directions—at least it seemed that way when we watched the news.
By now, this is a common discussion point around the watercooler—albeit the conversations may be occurring while working from home or while maintaining 6 feet of separation from others. It has been a difficult time, and it has gone so fast. In fact, I will have completed my term as chapter president in the month of June. I did not complete nearly anything I set out to do as the president. In fact, we even had to cancel the safety conference for 2020! Yep, the end of 2019 and so far in 2020, there have been upsets, letdowns, resets, and operational changes.
Despite the challenges and not being as successful in my position as I wanted to be, I will hold my head up and march on because that’s what safety professionals do!Actually, the real reason I will march on is because I know the chapter is in great hands with the brilliant and committed team that will keep us going into the future, whatever it looks like! People like David Hanson as the incoming chapter president. Mike Hill will still be doing meticulous work on the 2021 safety conference, Patti McGuire will keep being the incredible treasurer that amazes with her work, Roy Harper will stay on diligently producing meeting minutes while staying after his education, and David Spence is staying at the helm of bringing quality technical programing for our general meetings. We will see new board members coming on board as well: Ross Olsen, from Linde Group, will be heading up governmentalaffairs and Kyle Valley, from Boise Cascade, will be doing his part to help the chapter’s communications be delivered in a timely and accurate way as we are accustomed to because of Mike Hill’s efforts! What about Amy Stonehill? Well, she has done an amazing job with membership activities, and we hope she can continue as she makes changes in her job outlook!
I am truly blessed to have served and worked with such outstanding people of action.We are in great hands, and I can hardly wait to see what this team brings in the 2020/2021 chapteryear. I will still attend the board meetings as the past president, so I will get to see the team in action as they lead the way!
In these challenging times, keep your heads up and look for the exciting efforts and leadership that is taking place around you—and then join in!
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 Regional Safety Manager for Boise Cascade.