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Highlights from ASSE's Safety 2012 Conference

June 7, 2012

Attendance approached record levels at the American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) Safety 2012 Professional Development Conference and Exposition held in Denver June 3-6. More than 4,250 attendees from 36 countries helped create the second largest ASSE Safety show in conference history, and the expo was the largest ever with 504 exhibitors.

Laura Walter

EHS Today was on site in the Colorado Convention Center to report on the conference's keynotes, plenary sessions and technical sessions. Additional highlights from the conference include:

Pollock named incoming president: ASSE President Terrie Norris said goodbye during the June 5 general session and welcomed Rick Pollock, CSP, president and CEO of CLMI Safety Training, as the organization's president elect.

Michaels speaks out: During a June 4 plenary session, OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels discussed the benefits of OSHA inspections and occupational safety programs. "Employers who don't make the investment look at workers as replaceable cogs," he said.

Medina recognized with Society Fellow award: Rixio E. Medina, CSP, CPP, CMIOSH, received ASSE's prestigious Society Fellow award, which recognizes professional members who have displayed life-long leadership and excellence in the occupational safety and health community. Medina, a member of Region III’s Coastal Bend Chapter, is the general partner of Rixio Medina and Associates L.P., an international safety and security consulting firm specializing in the petroleum, refining and petrochemical industries. He has more than 34 years of experience in the EHS profession and, notably, contributed to ASSE’s Safety Professionals and the Latino Workforce (SPALW) common interest group.

Fabenco endows new scholarship: On June 5, ASSE member and CEO of Houston-based FabEnCo Inc., David H. LaCook, presented the ASSE Foundation with a donation of $110,000 to establish and fund a $4,000 annual scholarship for students pursuing a degree in the EHS field. Named the FabEnCo LaCook Investment for Excellence (LIFE) in Occupational Safety & Health Scholarship, it is open to part-time and full-time students pursuing an associate's, bachelor's, master's or Ph.D. in the occupational safety, health and environmental field.

This year marks Des Plaines, Ill.-based ASSE's 101st year of working to protect people, property and the environment. The organization was founded in 1911 following the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City, which claimed the lives of 146 women and men. ASSE represents 34,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professionals from all industries.

ASSE's Safety 2013 conference will be held in Las Vegas June 24-27, 2013.