Now, EHS Today covers so much more ground – a robust and interactive Web site with daily updates, a flourishing blog, white papers and more; an America's Safest Companies awards program; a Future Leaders in EHS scholarship program; and now, a conference that promotes and encourages transformational safety leadership.
John's comment made me think back to my first few weeks working as an editor of this magazine. Only one month after I was hired, I traveled to Chicago for the National Safety Council Congress & Expo and for our America's Safest Companies reception and award ceremony. Back then, we weren't even EHS Today – we were Occupational Hazards. We didn't have a conference (but we did host a lively cocktail party for our winners). As the years passed, our award ceremony changed locations and styles. From celebrating in a restaurant in Disneyland, to an outdoor patio in Orlando, to a lavish reception at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, to a formal dinner and keynote presentation in Philadelphia, we were always willing to make changes and continue improving the ASC program and award ceremony. We've certainly come a long way in the 10 years the award has been presented to organizations with world-class safety programs.
This year, our ceremony is held during a conference with sessions focusing on safety, sustainability, compliance and more. Our America's Safest Companies winners – ABB Inc., BASF Corp., Bell Helicopter, General Cable, Honeywell Aerospace, Life Technologies, Ordnance and Management Solutions-URS and Total Safety – accepted their trophies at the special lunecheon award ceremony, after which they had the opportunity to attend additional conference sessions followed by a networking reception.
Of course, our focus on this conference and other programs doesn't mean that we're neglecting the monthly print magazine. Editor-in-Chief Sandy Smith and I continue working to put out the best EHS magazine in the business, and one with the most relevant and engaging content. Our hard work was recognized this morning when I listened as a conference attendee approached Sandy to say, "I get a lot of information from a lot of sources, but EHS Today magazine is the best."
Once upon a time, EHS Today was once "just" a magazine. Now, I'm proud to say we are so much more. And I can't wait to see what's in store for us and our safety-minded companies and partners at next year's America's Safest Companies program – and beyond.
(Stay tuned for additional updates from the conference and for photographs of the winning companies at the award ceremony.)