The NCC-ACHMM Chapter sponsored two of our members, Robin Spencer and Karen Beyerlein, to attend the 11th Annual Conference of the ACHMM hosted by the New Jersey Chapter in October 1997. Here are the articles they prepared summarizing the Conference.
Atlantic City in the early fall is a very nice place to visit. I was fortunate to be sponsored by our chapter to attend the conference and report back to you, our members. Thank you for the opportunity. The 11th Annual Conference held at Harrah's conference center was attended by 250 happy, intelligent, and friendly folks who get their kicks from hazardous materials and safety management. Just like me!
Highlights of the Conference - The theme of the conference was "SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: Professional Hazardous Materials Managers Evolving Into Key Business Partners While Moving Towards SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT". The sustainable development technical session was of extremely high caliber, with speakers from the environmental department of the accounting firm Coopers and Lybrand, L.L.P., the President's Council on Sustainable Development and a consultant who was once a Senior Advisor to the World Bank. The focus of the presentations was to show how economic leaders are developing programs to encourage cooperation around the world for sustainable development. They discussed the concept of producing more while using fewer natural resources. It is a noble endeavor and one which will take great persistence and energy and leadership.
Social Events - The organizing committee put in a tremendous effort to pull off several fabulous social hours, lunches, and a dinner. At one social hour, three scholarships were awarded to university students who had won the 2nd Annual Hazardous Materials Management Student Competition. At a dinner, the entertainment was a psychic from New York City who "read minds". It was especially fun to have those in the know tell us how he did it.
Board Meeting and Annual Meeting - To me the most interesting part of the conference was attending the board, annual, and committee meetings. Here you saw the faces and actions of the folks who are energized about the certification and who are pouring hours of work into old and new programs. Remember getting the ballot for the national election of board members? Each of those names are REAL people and I met almost every one. You are in good hands with the current slate of board members. And just wait, the President-Elect, Cindy Savage from Lewis and Clark University in Portland, is a ball of fire ready to go.
Committee Meetings - I attended several Committee Meetings, including, Running a CHMM Review Course, and Membership Meetings. These committee meetings offered a wonderful opportunity to see how other review courses are taught, and monthly meetings are run.
The Review Course is given in many different fashions:
· Ten-week study group at no cost with each person assigned a topic
· Graduate class refresher course discounted for CHMMs, 2-5 day course
· Some classes are taught by one instructor; some with many instructors
Membership Meetings. A committee discussed membership and programs. Again, different chapters have different ways of having programs. For instance, the Minneapolis (North Star) Chapter has annual dues which pays for the newsletter and snacks at the monthly meeting. Each monthly meeting is free, and is an afternoon factory tour followed by a technically related talk. The assignment of getting the factory tour together is rotated monthly.
The conference provided various opportunities for me to meet and interact with other CHMMs who are practicing in a broad array of environmental positions from all over the country. The avenues of meeting and interacting with others were by attending: the ACHMM Board Meeting; the Annual ACHMM Business Meeting; various Committee Meetings; numerous technical sessions; luncheons and dinners; and extracurricular functions.
This year's theme focused on "Sustainable Development." Environmental professionals are evolving into key business partners within various organizations. As CHMMs, we must provide the vision and leadership needed to improve companies' competitiveness and progress towards sustainability. The five major categories of this year's technical sessions included: Brownfields & Pollution Prevention; Managing Risk (ISO 14000); Environmental Health & Safety Issues: New Regulatory Initiatives; and Professional & Business Development.
Aside from business, the extracurricular activities provided an exceptional opportunity to get to know other CHMM'ers in a less formal manner. This included a "deep-sea fishing expedition" on the Atlantic Ocean, where some of us caught some really cool fish, and a good time was had by all.
Other planned activities included a "Port of Cape May, Emergency Operations Plan, Full Scale Exercise" on October 8, 1997. Numerous local businesses and emergency response agencies (local, state, and federal) participated in this real-time emergency response exercise scenario.
Overall, this conference provided a great opportunity to meet and socialize with other CHMMs from around the USA, including: our past, present, and future ACHMM Presidents, the National Board Members, and numerous guest speakers. It was great to meet people, and associate faces and personalities with pictures and names in the ACHMM quarterly newsletters. We had the opportunity to intermingle and discover what other Chapters are doing and how they are operating.
The Academy's Winter 1997 quarterly issue of "The Certified Hazardous Materials Manager" provides highlights of various conference activities. Note: If you are a CHMM, are paying your dues, and are not currently receiving the quarterly "The Certified Hazardous Materials Manager" publication, call the Academy at (800) 437-0137. If you are not receiving the Institutes' "IHMM Bulletin", call (301) 984-8969.
Our NCC-ACHMM Chapter would like thank the New Jersey Chapter for all of your many, many hours of planning, attention to detail, and tremendous energy and coordination that it took to make the 1997 ACHMM Conference a success. Our special thanks goes to the New Jersey Chapter co- chairs, Elizabeth Pfeiffer and Peter Spinney.
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