The Spring meeting of the Region 1 Operating Committee (ROC) kicked off in style on Sunday night at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach, California. Approximately 35 ASSP leaders from the twenty chapters in Region 1 came together for a reception in the beautiful Seaview Rotunda. Long Beach Chapter President and Region 1 Deputy Regional Vice President, Chris Rainwater, greeted delegates to the meeting and provided each with a welcome “swag bag” of goodies. ASSP President and CEO Jennifer M. McNelly joined the ROC in Long Beach.

At its monthly Education and Networking Session on March 21st, the Long Beach Chapter presented checks to the winning grants and scholarships applicants for the 23-24 term. Chapter President Chris Rainwater presented checks to:

• Allyson Clark – $1,000 – ASSP National Event Grant
• Calvin Pierre – $1,000 – Undergraduate Scholarship
• Anthony Campos – $750 – CSUDH Continuing Education

A fourth winner, Veronica Kimble, was unable to join the check presentation ceremony; however, she has been awarded a $750 grant for continuing safety education.

Congratulations to all the winners! 

Missed your opportunity to apply this year? No worries! The Chapter’s Grants and Scholarships program will continue strong in the 24-25 term.

The February Education & Networking Event held on 15 February at CSUDH was an eye-opening session about Suspension Trauma Syndrome. Chapter President and Region 1 DRVP, Chris Rainwater presented on this fascinating topic to members who attended both in-person and virtually. As always, members who attended in person received a complimentary lunch. All attendees will receive a link through which they may claim CEUs for this event. 

The next Education & Networking Event will be held on 21 March 2024 (always the third Thursday of the month) from Noon – 1:30 at CSUDH. Members are encouraged to arrive at noon for lunch and networking, and the presentation will begin at 12:30. Check here for more information.

Participation was strong for the January 2024 Education & Networking event! 54 members registered for the event which featured Chapter President and Region 1 DRVP Chris Rainwater presenting on the OSHA recordkeeping regulations and the OSHA 300.

Instructions on how to claim your CEU credits will be sent to all attendees. Congratulations to Steven Vanderlaske for winning a $50 Amazon gift card for bringing a guest to the event! Who will bring the most guests to the February 15th Education and Networking Event and win the next gift card? There’s only one way to find out – see you there!

Amazing, incredible, awesome, and irreplaceable…we all know someone who is often described using these words! We are very fortunate in the safety community to count some of the finest professionals among our ranks.

Whether it was a single act that distinguished them, a successful project that took months, or they have a career full of being extraordinary, all of these safety professionals deserve to be recognized!

The Long Beach Chapter has a very strong Awards and Honors Program designed to recognize the outstanding safety professionals within our chapter, and the period to submit nominations is now open!

To nominate a safety professional for a chapter award, simply visit our Awards page. The different awards are listed, along with their criteria, as well as an easy to complete nomination form.

The Chapter is currently seeking nominations for the following awards.

There is no doubt that the global Covid pandemic threw us all off our game. ASSP chapters across the nation suffered as in-person activities came to an abrupt halt. Many chapters continue to struggle, but I am thrilled to report that Long Beach is not one of them.

The 23-24 term has really started strong, and we now find ourselves, incredibly, at the half-way point of the term. Looking back at the first half, I am amazed at what all of you accomplished!

The monthly Education & Networking sessions, held at Cal State University Dominguez Hills on the third Thursday of each month, have been an unqualified success. The sessions, which are offered both in-person and virtually, feature engaging and experienced speakers. Lunch is provided to everyone attending in person, and CEUs are awarded for every session.

Registrations for the monthly sessions increased by an amazing 2,000% in the first half—that’s not a typo! Nearly half of chapter members registered for the monthly events July-December 2023—GREAT JOB EVERYONE!

The Holiday gathering at La Traviata on Friday, December 15, was a HUGE success! 40 or so members and their “plus ones” enjoyed an amazing Italian dinner, lots of appetizers and assorted desserts. The mood was very festive, and everyone had a wonderful time! Six lucky elves won door prizes! Long Beach Chapter members also really came through for the kids as dozens of gifts and more than $400 were donated to the Long Beach Fire Department’s annual toy drive! Way to go ASSP Long Beach!

Now, with only a week to go until Christmas Day, we wish you all the peace and joy of the season. We pray for the ever-present hope of Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Men!

The ASSP Region I (Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, and California) Region Operating Committee (ROC) met in San Francisco 26-27 October 2023 for its annual Fall session. The meeting was well-attended and provided updates to the twenty ASSP chapters located in Region I on a wide array of issues. Regional Vice President (RVP) Justin Molocznik chaired the two-day meeting through an agenda focused on ensuring that chapters have the tools they need to ensure the success of their members.

Three bay-areas chapters, San Francisco, San Jose, and Sacramento worked together to put all the logistics together for a meeting of this size. The three chapters did an amazing job, and the event was a huge success for all attending.

The Long Beach Chapter figured prominently into the event with some big news coming out of San Francisco. First, the WISE Chair for Long Beach, our very own Rosa Carrillo, was a guest speaker at the event! Rosa spoke about leadership with the OSH profession, and ASSP Region I provided everyone with a copy of Rosa’s latest book, Health and Safety Leadership Strategy. Thank you to Rosa for her insights and for once again highlighting the amazing talent that resides right here in the Long Beach Chapter!

At its October Education and Networking Session, the Long Beach Chapter of the ASSP presented speaker Dick Monod de Froideville, MPA. Dick Monod is a retired Cal/OSHA Compliance Health and Safety Officer and Industrial Hygienist/Safety Engineer with over 30 years experience. Dick is an OSHA Training Insitute Instructor at the California State University of Dominguez Hill (CSUDH) & Chabot Las Positas. Dick has a Masters in Adult Learning. Dick presented a wealth if information about current developments at Cal/OSHA, including new information about the revised appeals process.

A link to the presentation is also available here. The passcode is 6Q%5Wff^.

In 2021, at the height of the Covid pandemic, then Chapter President Jed Douglas contacted me to see if I’d be interested in serving on the EC. “You’ve been nominated…,” he stated. Honored, I accepted a role on the Long Beach Chapter EC. It turns out that the only person who knew my name was Jed Douglas, but that’s another story!

The truth is, serving this Chapter on the EC, first as Program Chair and Member Chair in 2021, then as Vice-President in 2022, and now as your Chapter President has been an incredibly rewarding experience. In fact, I want to take a page from Jed’s playbook and tell you all what he told me—you’re nominated to serve!

In the coming months, and in accordance with the ASSP and Long Beach ASSP by-laws, we will begin the annual process of electing members to the Executive Committee. Only a few of the positions are elected (Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary), and the remaining positions are appointed. Because the Vice-President automatically becomes the President for the following term, members are electing their future President when they cast their votes for Vice-President.