CSSE e-Lert:
Member Update from President of the Board
JUNE 30, 2022
CSSE: Working to bring value to you, our members
This spring has brought so much optimism, as CSSE members started to gather again in person and continued to be brought together through leading professional development and networking sessions, such as the one held recently in BC. If you missed it, pop over to our LinkedIn group to read more.
For me, this time of year always allows me to slow down and look to our community for the impact of our profession. The fruits of our labour can be heard in children’s laughter, smelled in the mouth-watering aromas of barbeques, and overheard in the conversations happening on park benches and in coffee shops. It is because of the work each of us do that our colleagues can make it home safe at the end of the workday.
With the warmer weather, and as things begin to reopen and life gets back to normal, I hope that many of you will take the time to recharge and reconnect.
Over the summer months, chapter meetings and events will start to slow down. But we are still here working for you.
Kudos to the many volunteers who continue to put in enormous amounts of time to bring you the best in local networking and professional development, and congratulations to the many CSSE members who either renewed their leadership terms or stepped up to take on new positions. More than 100 Certified Health and Safety (CHSC) designation-holders will be completing their scheduled maintenance audit, with documentation due today. The CHSC Audit Working Group chaired by Paul Westcott will conduct full audits of eight randomly selected holders. We are still looking for volunteers for that working group if you would like to get involved. Special recognition and thanks go out to Zhenyan Liu, Education Administrator for CSSE, who is leading the coordination of this effort.
We know that the professional development conference is of high value to our members, especially when it is conducted face to face. The comfort levels of our membership were mixed on returning in person at the time we would have needed to start conference planning for 2023, though. So we’re looking forward to the healthy return of our conference in July 2024, in Edmonton. This event will be timed to coincide with CSSE's 75 anniversary! Drew Douglas is chairing a working group of volunteers that will work together with seasoned professional Jeannie Lasquinha, who has newly joined CSSE.
In the coming weeks, you will hear more from Christopher Barry, CSSE’s Chief Executive Officer, about how we are working to ensure that CSSE delivers on its promise to be the leading professional association for health, safety, and environmental practitioners in Canada.
Christopher was appointed by the CSSE Board of Directors in November 2021 after a competitive search process. He has brought deep leadership experience to CSSE, having led 22 organizational-change initiatives in the not-for-profit sector. In the coming weeks, Christopher will report back on what he has learned since joining CSSE, what he has heard from the membership (both past and present), and on our strategic path moving forward together.
Continuing the rich, nearly 75-year-long history of CSSE is only possible because of its people. That’s why we need your help to build our network of professionals. To grow and diversify our membership, the Board has approved a reduction in one of its membership categories, reducing the price for new student members to only $22.22. And if you refer a member by July 31, you’ll be entered into a draw for the chance to win a Visa gift card. It’s our small way of saying thank you for being a CSSE ambassador. We’ve made it easy to spread the word with a toolkit for you to use.
Sincerely,
Christl Aggus
President of the Board
CSSE