March 2016 – President’s Message

Hopefully with the worst of the winter weather behind us, NJAIHA members can look forward to the coming of springtime with daffodils and green grass, trees etc. One green thing that IH’s are not too fond of is mold. Although some of us do need to understand it, all of us should be familiar with issues surrounding it. To that end, I want to bring your attention to an important item that will affect many of us in NJAIHA. Members should have received an email from the NJAIHA recently which discusses the NJ Legislature’s recent introduction of a “new” bill concerning regulating mold assessment and remediation in NJ. National AIHA, through the efforts of Aaron Trippler, has drafted a letter response on NJAIHA’s behalf commenting on the bill. NJAIHA is inviting interested stakeholders to send their comments to us on that letter or to send their comments directly to the NJ Legislature on the proposed bill. If you did not have a chance to read the email, it is reprinted at the end of this month’s Newsletter (including links to the attachments). NJAIHA is encouraging all stakeholders and other interested parties to become familiar with the issues and provide feedback to NJAIHA and/or the NJ Legislature. Please see the article at the end of this month’s Newsletter.

It’s that time of year again to start thinking of another important topic which is our annual NJAIHA officer elections. Steve Siegel, current Past President recently sent out an email regarding the 2016 NJAIHA Officer Election ballots for this year. There are openings for 2016 include: President Elect, Treasurer, Membership Committee Chair and Publications Director. Anyone interested in running for office should contact Steve Siegel (Stephen.Siegel@dupont.com). Additionally, we are still looking for a volunteer for the NJAIHA Outreach Coordinator. Anyone interested in working to help reach out to our future IH’s through visits to careers days and other related community events, should contact Ronnie Tutty at njaiha@ptd.net.

Also the Executive Board has asked for volunteers for the 2016 NEIHC Conference Committee. After investigating other venues, the Executive Board again is working with the Westin in Princeton for the NEIHC and the PSEG in Edison for the 2016 PDCs. Please save the date – 12/2/16 for the Conference and 12/1/16 for the PDC’s. Please join next years’ President, Bernie Fontaine Jr. as he hosts our biggest event of the year. Several of you have already volunteered for that Committee and there is plenty of room to help make this years’ event spectacular. Anyone interested should contact Barbara Woodhull (barb.woodhull@us.bureauveritas.com) 2016 Treasurer and NEIHC Conference Committee Chair.

Finally, hopefully you can join us for our joint meeting with NJASSE/MABSA on St. Patrick’s Day March 17th at Snuffy’s. It is the biggest dinner meeting of the year for NJAIHA – don’t miss out!

Best Regards,
Mark Ostapczuk
President NJAIHA