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WHO WE ARE
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Letter from the President
Dear VEHA Members,
2006 marked the fortieth year since the incorporation of the Virginia Environmental Health Association (then the Virginia Association of Public Health Sanitarians). In those forty years, we have continuously worked to improve our service to the environmental health professionals in the Commonwealth.
Our activities have included professional education and training workshops covering a broad range of health topics—intentionally more broad than you may experience in your day-to-day professional life. As our field becomes increasingly dynamic and responds to unforeseen challenges to the public welfare, being knowledgeable about environmental health topics beyond your “daily duty” becomes more important all the time. What may seem peripheral one day—a little-known disease such as that caused by the West Nile Virus, for example—may suddenly become a focus of our public health efforts. Being prepared for what we’re not yet asked to do is an important role for these workshops. We also try to bring to you the latest research and experience in your more familiar fields—food safety, soil science and water quality, emergency readiness, and our interaction with the epidemiologists, physicians, scientists, “first responders”, local governments and others with whom we work together for community health. We look forward to continuing this professional development, including partnering with other public health associations in these workshops.
We look to your direct benefit in professional development in offering Continuing Education Credits from state universities and NEHA, required contact hours for VDH employees, and assistance with accreditation as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist. You’ll be hearing more soon about study groups to prepare you for this rigorous exam and credential.
We try to keep ourselves involved in the regulatory process in our state, through representation in the Sewage Handling Advisory Committee, Food Safety Committees, AOSE Committee, and the Onsite Training Center Steering Committee.
We look to develop our next generation of environmental health professional through awarding scholarships each year to outstanding students in an accredited environmental health program, and encouraging them to maintain their standard of excellence as they enter their environmental careers.
And we have opportunities for you to participate in VEHA, as members of our activity committees—you’ll be hearing more about these in future Bulletins. Please consider giving your time to our organization, to enrich our ability to offer our best professional services to you.
I’m very honored to have been selected as your new Association president, and I promise to keep you all well informed about our efforts to strengthen VEHA and its outreach to you in your professional community. Your new Board has a sense of enthusiasm and purpose that makes me suspect the best.
David Fridley,
VEHA President
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History
Founded in 1966 as the Virginia Sanitarians Association. The name was later changed to Virginia Environmental Health Association (VEHA) to more appropriately encompass the expanding field.
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General Information
The Virginia Environmental Health Association, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting professional environmental health practices in the Commonwealth of Virginia. VEHA is comprised of all volunteers who make up its general membership, the Board of Directors, and committees for:
• Membership
• Election
• Professional Advancement
• Technical Advisory
• Educational Training
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| VEHA provides a platform from which Environmental Health professionals can express their opinions and concerns about traditional and current environmental issues. In addition to discussing current challenges among fellow professionals, much effort is put forth to create and develop resolutions. When appropriate, some resolutions are offered to legislative and executive bodies for consideration during the promulgation of code and regulation. |
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