Welcome
Region VI of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) is a community of safety, health, environmental professionals stretching from South Carolina to Delaware. Our 15 local chapters, 1 international chapter (Kuwait), 2 sections and 4 student sections represent nearly 3000 members of the ASSE in every possible industry group from construction to government, manufacturing to transportation and health care to education. All with the common commitment to the protection of People, Property and the Environment.
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A Quick "Thank You" from the RVP
It is my pleasure to announce that the results from the Kid’s “Safety on the Job” Poster contest have been released. There were 850 posters submitted, from 34 states and 6 countries. Prizes were announced for the top four posters in each age category. There were 20 total spots. 15 of those 20 winners were from Region VI! The Kuwait Chapter alone had 8 of those spots! Heck, the Bock family had 2 of ‘em on their own!
GREAT JOB, Region VI – you really outdid yourself in getting the word out there. This contest is fantastic support for NAOSH Week. See the “official” NAOSH poster and the winning entries at http://www.asse.org/newsroom/naosh10/poster-contest-winners.php.
This is only the beginning, folks! We have our week and our day coming up in less than two months. Let’s keep the momentum going, and share the importance of what we do! I’ll see you in Washington DC, starting on May 2nd!
Jim Morris
Region VI Vice President
Meet the Region VI Vice President Candidates
The Nominations and Elections Committee comprised of Mike Kerns (National Capital Chapter), Bob Lawson (Chesapeake Chapter) Daryl See (Delmarva Chapter), Jeff Noel (Tarheel Chapter) and myself, Laura Comstock (South Carolina Chapter), met at the ROC at Myrtle Beach and reviewed the submissions for nomination to the Region VI Vice President. We were very fortunate to have very qualified candidates for the position and have submitted a slate of two candidates to the Society. Below is a bio of the candidates for Region VI RVP.
Erik W. Ketelsen currently serves Hartford County Government, MD, as the Safety & Compliance Officer. He manages the Occupational Safety & Health Program, assisting in the development, implementation and maintenance of risk transfer, exposure, claims information and compliance. He has been employed with county government since 1997 and has over 17 years experience in Occupational Health and Safety.
Ketelsen’s background includes a B.S. from Towson University and an M.S. in Safety Engineering Science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Ketelsen teaches several courses including Fundamentals of Occupational Safety & Health and Risk Management as part of the Management Program at the Higher Education and Applied Technology Center in Maryland.
A professional member of ASSE, he has held several offices. During his term as President (2006-2007), Chesapeake Chapter attendance soared. During his tenure of direct involvement (2005 – 2008) The Chapter was recognized for many contributions. An advocate for safety, Ketelsen served Region VI as ARVP for governmental affairs. A staunch supporter of NAOSH, Ketelsen procured support proclamations form every government demographic of the Chesapeake Region. Ketelsen remains involved in regional and local safety issues and has been a liaison with the PDC (2006- present). Ketelsen remains a tireless promoter, extolling the values and benefits of ASSE. Ketelsen has often been recognized in the field of safety. Currently on the Board of Directors for Public Risk Management Association, he has served in official capacity at many fine organizations. Ketelsen is fortunate to have a supportive wife Alison; the Ketelsen’s have been blessed with three wonderful children.
Vince R. Miller Jr. is Safety Director for the National Electrical Contractors Association, Washington DC Chapter in Annandale, Virginia and President of Miller Safety Consultants, Ltd , Manassas, Virginia. As a consultant for the NECA Chapter, he provides member companies of the association with technical assistance regarding developing and maintaining Environmental, Health and Safety programs and regulatory compliance within the Washington DC area. As the owner of Miller Safety Consultants, Ltd, he provides services to clients in North America and Canada in areas of electrical safety training and specialty equipment for employee protection.
Miller, a professional member, has been an ASSE member since 1991, and has held offices in the NOVA and National Capital Chapters. During his term as president of the National Capital Chapter (2002-03), he created the NOVA section and was given the chapter SPY by NCC in that period. He represented the ASSE national at the mine training facility in Beckley, West Virginia and at Federal Government safety seminars. As treasurer of the NOVA chapter, he provided stability in the development of the newly formed chapter and has remained as an advisor in the chapter activities as the COPS chair, past-presidents advisory group, and Scholarship chair. Miller was given the Chapter SPY award from NOVA in 2008. He has been a delegate for the NOVA chapter for the past three years.
Miller has remained active within Region VI as a speaker at Chapter and Region PDC’s. He has supported Chapter activity fundraising and educational efforts around the region. He has provide support and guidance to fellow safety professionals in obtaining certifications through the BCSP.
Western Carolina University Student Section Formed
Region VI is pleased to announce their newest student section, at Western Carolina University. They join Virginia Tech and East Carolina universities as part of the Region VI student family.
A section of the Piedmont Chapter, this relationship started several years ago when Professor Tracy Zontek signed up several students for the Region VI PDC Student Poster Competition. Since that time, WCU has been a fixture in not only the competition, but also at the prize stand! Bill Geddings, President of the Piedmont Chapter and Dr. Zontek were instrumental in making this partnership official.
We’re already looking for opportunities to provide internships for WCU; they have as indicated that they would be interested in receiving donations of equipment for their facility. Dr. Zontek can be contacted at zontek@email.wcu.edu if you are able to provide internship opportunities and/or equipment.
Regional Vice President's Message
Welcome to ASSE Region VI! From the Low Country of South Carolina to the northern reaches of the Chesapeake Bay, and all the way across our borders to Kuwait we are a resource for information about protecting people, property, and the environment. We’re 16 Chapters strong and our membership is growing every day.
With the strength of ASSE’s headquarters behind us, and an active, knowledgeable, and diverse group of grass-roots leaders in each Chapter, Region VI is poised to be the “premier” region in ASSE. Some could argue that we are there already; within the last year, we have two of the four ASSE Chapters of the Year (Kuwait, Medium Chapter of the Year – THE FIRST CHAPTER OUTSIDE THE US TO WIN! & NoVa, Rookie of the Year).
We’re active in the community, as evidenced by the Tarheel Chapter’s work with Habitat for Humanity and a number of other Chapters’ work with local and national Charities. Even our children got into the act, where we always maintain a strong presence in the Kids’ Poster Contest Winners for NAOSH Week! Plus, we’ve got the “best little conference money can buy” with our Regional Professional Development Conference in beautiful Myrtle Beach; this conference rivals many national conferences!
Toss all that in with a number of local development conferences and other training opportunities, and you can get just a glimpse of the group of professionals that are working to improve the visibility and effectiveness of safety, health, and environmental programs in the workplace and beyond. So, feel free to peruse these pages to get a taste of who we are, and if you’re not already a part of us, we’d love to have you help us make our communities safer place to live and work!
Jim Morris, Region VI RVP