Annual report for Vermont Safety & Health Council (VSHC) – 2022
Membership updates
VSHC Members – In 2022 there were 52 members.
VSHC Board Members – The Board of Directors consisted of nine members, one alternate, and two liaisons, two from the Vermont Department of Labor.
Applications for the 2023 Board were due November 11th, and we received five. Current Board members who applied were removed from the decision-making for appointment. The evaluation team met on November 30, 2022; the results were as follows for the three-year terms:
One (not so new) face Teresa Miele:
Teresa has worked with us on an array of projects over the past 10 years. Most recently she supported us on our Social Media Subcommittee conducting our very first ask the expert series. Over time she has chaired and co-chaired our Rutland chapter, she has never balked when we look for help. Welcome Teresa!
Two more familiar faces:
Kathy Brouillette and Becky L’Esperance also applied to extend their services and were unanimously welcomed back. Kathy has worked with us on the board for three years and was instrumental in the committee to source our Zoom platform as well as the speakerphone systems we purchased to go with it. She attends all our meetings and volunteers to scribe often as the need arises. She recently took on several board marketing tasks sourcing our new banner and updating a tired Expo booth. Becky has served the board well over 8 years, in several capacities she offers a strong safety perspective to any topic and is the mastermind behind our Kahoot Icebreakers at our recent Expos. Thank you both for extending your service.
The board determined a need to involve more alternate board members and utilized the two remaining applicants for these positions. We are excited to work with Noelle Rose, Director of Operations from Aqua ViTea, and Katie Frederick Owner, Applied Solutions Consulting. These are non-voting capacities, and the term is one year
There will be 3 openings for 2024 and a call for candidates will be made in the Fall of this year.
It cannot go without saying that our past president Sue Murray found it an opportune time to retire and otherwise leave us. We appreciate the years of support Sue offered on both the chapter and board levels. Her insight, leadership, and smile will be sorely missed.
The 2023 Board roles are as follows:
- President: Bob Davison
- Vice-President: Kathy Brouillette
- Secretary: Amy Morissette
- Treasurer: Maureen Johnson
- Website Coordinator: Bob Davison
- Membership Coordinator: Ashley Moll-Fernandez; co-chair: Teresa Miele
- Social Media Chair: Bob Davison
- Department of Labor Liaison: Luke McCarthy and Shawn Barth
- Board Members: Shannon Prescott, Becky L’Esperance, and Suzanne Kotarba
- Alternate Board Members: Katie Frederick and Noelle Rose
Social Media: 2022 Vermont Safety & Health Council (VSHC) Social Media Subcommittee
Facebook: The Facebook page did not grow followers in 2022, but we remained active through the Ask the Expert (short clip featuring an environmental, health & safety or related expert being asked and answering a question) posts, other original and shared posts, and promotion of Expo through video testimonials. All members and others interested in Safety & Health in Vermont are invited to join and contribute to our page.
Our web presence is more relevant to our success now than ever. As such the board voted unanimously to strengthen our partnership and increase our budget working with Gonzalez Freelance Website Consultants. Our mindset in this venture is to build our web presence and provide members with a hands-on digital resource to help meet their needs.
Education and Training: 2022 Vermont Safety & Health Council (VSHC) Education and Training Subcommittee
The training and educational committee is made up of volunteers from the steering committee and board members.
The committee’s goal is to revitalize the inter-chapter and board safety training and educational offerings. The desired outcome is to provide more safety training throughout the state of Vermont and gain more member participation through the utilization of virtual and in-person courses.
In 2022 the board members and the committee focused on the training needs. The committee is currently set out to formalize a 2023 training schedule by working with each interchapter and Vermont Safety and Health Council.
VSHC activities: The Annual Expo, for 2022 was held again at Burke Mountain resort. There were 85 attendees this year our slate of speakers covered topics vital to industry, Noise and hearing protection, Fall protection, Workers’ compensation, The top 10 cited OSHA compliance violations, and Industrial hygiene. We rounded out the day with a panel providing an open forum on Health and Wellness a topic that presenters and attendees alike found equally eye-opening.
Chapter Activities: Through attrition due to retirements and relocation of many of our active steering committee members, two of our southern chapters found their memberships non-sustainable. To get more done across the state the southern chapters combined their membership to create a solid force. The new southern chapter represented by members from Bennington, Brattleboro, and Rutland chapters joined forces to bring us three solid workshops. Two on Vaccine mandates, and a third on outside elements entitled “What’s heat got to do with it”. This program spoke to Heat, Ticks, and Rabies, featuring a speaker from VOSHA and two Epidemiologists from the Vermont Department of Health.
Treasury:
VSHC has two accounts at Key Bank – a regular business checking account and an account used to accept PayPal payments and electronic incoming transactions (revenue). We do not use the account to make outgoing payments (expenses). A summary of account activity follows. A complete ledger is available on request.
- The January 1, 2022, balance in the business checking account was $19,051.16 and the December 31, 2022, balance was $12,408.04.
- The January 1, 2022, balance in the 2nd account was $3,000.00 and the December 31, 2022, balance was $7,020.43.
- The January 1, 2022, balance in the PayPal account was $257.90 and the December 31, 2022, balance was $170.15.
