The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) Safety 2011 conference and expo, held June 12-15 in Chicago, honors both the past and the future.
ASSE, which was founded in response to the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911, turns 100 this year, an anniversary that prompts the society and its members to celebrate the strides made in occupational safety in the last century. But in addition to looking back and seeing how far the safety profession has come, it's also a time to consider the future -- particularly the future of the safety professional.
For example, take the group of college students who crowded the EHS Today booth during yesterday's opening reception on the expo floor. They wanted to pick up copies of our June issue, which features ASSE President Darryl C. Hill on the cover. It was the perfect opportunity for us to steer these students toward the Future Leaders in EHS scholarship application.
This program, sponsored jointly by EHS Today and PureSafety, supports and encourages EHS students as they respond to the challenges of the 21st century workplace and lead the way in keeping tomorrow’s workers safe, healthy and on the job. The program offers a $5,000 scholarship along with resources and expertise to universities and students.
Last year's winner, Jason Townsell, wrote in his application: “EHS has proven to be one of the most important emerging fields of this decade. With more and more people being drawn to the field, appropriate education is a must.” (Read more about Jason and why the judges selected him here. Jason is also a guest blogger for this blog; scroll through the archives to read more from him as well as Tran Huynh, a Future Leader runner-up.)
Young EHS leaders like Jason, Tran, and our other 2010 runner-up, Beau Middaugh, are shining examples of what the safety profession has to honor in the future. For more information about this program, or to learn how to apply, visit the Future Leaders in EHS page.
If you're here in Chicago this week, the EHS Today team hopes to see you at the show. What's more, we hope to see you in the future -- as the occupational safety profession builds upon these last 100 years and grows stronger in the century to come.