American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Executive Director O. Gordon Banks will be stepping down as chief staff officer effective Dec. 31, 2001.
Banks has served as executive director since 1989.
"Due in part to Gordon''s vision and leadership, AIHA is now an organization that is unparalleled in its service to the mission of the protection of workers and the community," said Steven Levine, CIH, president of AIHA.
Banks is credited with building a strong government affairs program at the state and local levels; developing a significant public relations program; creating and expanding The Synergist; doubling the number of PDCs; and increasing the members'' equity.
"Looking over the past years, it is hard to believe how many new programs have been initiated, how many volunteers have contributed to the organization, and how the stature of AIHA has grown," reflected Banks. "I am proud to leave AIHA with an incredibly strong base from which to move forward. There is no doubt in my mind that the association will continue to achieve new and greater heights."
The organization has 12,500 members, an operating budget of nearly $13 million, and a staff of 62.
Banks will continue to guide and assist the organization through the transition period in the coming year.
The AIHA Executive Committee will be forming a search committee and working with an executive search firm to fill the pending vacancy.
AIHA spokesperson Peter O''Neil said the announcement of Banks stepping down comes nearly a year early because the Executive Committee wanted to give qualified candidates advanced notice of the position opening.
by Virginia Sutcliffe