South Carolina, Greater Chicago and Greater Boston Named American Society of Safety Engineers’ Chapters of the Year
Des Plaines, IL (June 16, 2008) — The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) recently announced the recipients of the ASSE Chapter of the Year Awards. The small chapter category award goes to the ASSE South Carolina Chapter; the medium chapter category award goes to the ASSE Greater Chicago Chapter; and the large chapter category award goes to the ASSE Greater Boston Chapter for the third year in a row. The chapters received the awards at the annual ASSE Professional Development Conference (PDC) in Las Vegas, June 9-12, 2008.
The South Carolina Chapter received the small chapter award for its continued support of occupational safety and health through their various activities. For example, the chapter was recognized by the U. S. Marine Corp for its donation of bicycle safety helmets as part of the Toys for Tots program. The chapter also established a memorial fund for the families of the nine firemen from Charleston South Carolina killed in the line of duty June 18, 2007.
“The ASSE South Carolina Chapter is an excellent choice for the Small Chapter of the Year Award,” said Region I Vice President Jim Morris. “This Chapter has always been one of the strongest chapters in the region and the Society, having won the small chapter of the year award two years ago.”
Some of the activities that contributed to the Greater Chicago Chapter receiving the medium chapter award included honoring chapter members with the ASSE longtime service award during a monthly luncheon meeting in December. The chapter presented the award to one member with more than 50 years of service and several members with 25 years of service to the chapter. They also hosted several technical presentations during their monthly meetings including: safety excellence; emergency action plans; employee recognition programs; ergonomics and more.
The Greater Boston Chapter was honored with the large chapter award for hosting events such as its recent joint meeting with the New England Section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (NEAIHA) where more than 80 people attended to learn about the latest developments in confined space entry regulations and confined space rescue operations. In addition, the Greater Boston Chapter continued their support of the ASSE Foundation by donating funds toward scholarships and professional development grants. The donation came from funds generated by the Greater Boston Chapter annual Beanpot Open Scholarship Golf Outing (BOSGO) golf tournament. Also, a Greater Boston Chapter member received the North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Champion Award and the daughter of the Greater Boston Chapter past-president received the NAOSH Junior Champion award, both for raising awareness about the importance of workplace safety and health week during NAOSH Week, which ran May 4-10, 2008.
Each chapter of the year receives a $1,000 award, a $500 stipend to send a chapter representative to the annual ASSE PDC to receive the award, recognition on a plaque at ASSE headquarters and an award for the chapter president displaying the award-winning year.
The chapters are nominated by their ASSE regions and chapters are chosen based on their activities, application and information provided to the judging committee. To be nominated, all chapters must first earn a Chapter Star. The Chapter Stars Recognition Program (CSRP) is intended to recognize Chapters that give their members superior service by providing quality programs designed to advance the professional growth of their members, support the mission and vision of ASSE and make a positive impact on the people, property and environment in their community.
Founded in 1911, the Des Plaines, IL-based ASSE is the largest and oldest professional safety organization and is committed to protecting people, property and the environment. Its more than 32,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members manage, supervise, research and consult on safety, health, transportation and environmental issues in all industries, government, labor and education. For more information please go to www.asse.org.