President's Letter - October 2008

I look forward to this opportunity to serve you as President of our St. Louis Chapter of ASSE. Thanks to AJ Gajdosik, our Past President, for many years of service to our organization. The survey that we recently conducted demonstrated that our membership is satisfied with the meeting location, time and food so we will continue to hold meetings at Syberg’s for 2008-2009.

Sheila Schmidt, Bill White and I will attend the ASSE Leadership Conference in Chicago in October. Sheila and I will also attend the Regional Operating Committee in Chicago in October. These will be excellent opportunities to network with our peers in other local chapters and discuss best practices.

Bill White will continue to Chair our Scholarship Program. Information about this program is available on our website. In addition, the ASSE Foundation is offering nearly $135,000 in scholarships and grants and 8 new awards this year. Please consider volunteering to be a trustee or becoming a legacy trust donor by including ASSE Foundation in your estate planning.

Tim Myatt will continue to Chair our Public Relations committee. Please contact him if your company would like to sponsor a meeting.

Congratulations to several members whose anniversaries we will celebrate during membership appreciation on November 10, 2008:

  • 25 years: Jerry Carter, Mark Steinbrecher and Danny Johns
  • 50 years: James Higdon

Please mark your calendars for our annual PDC and golf outing:

  • ASSE/AIHA Joint PDC at Ameren – March 9, 2009
  • ASSE Golf Outing – June 5, 2009

Thanks to all of our Board and Committee members for their hard work and dedication. Thanks especially to Bill Kincaid who writes our Safety Topics, Tom Lawrence who writes our Regulatory Update and Mike McCormick who edits the newsletter.

I welcome your comments and suggestions about our activities, website, newsletter, speakers, etc.

Chris Merli, CSP, CIH, CHMM
President, ASSE St. Louis Chapter
To Whom Much is Given, Much is Expected