Congratulations! to the awardees of the 2023 ASSP Western PA Chapter Scholarships. Madison Piatak, Chloe Croft, and Mahkena Delaney-Savinda from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and Sophia Naugle and Emily Szczesny from Slippery Rock University (SRU).

The total awards provided by the Chapter were $6,000.00 which is about 10% of the Chapter’s annual budget.

As the Chapter is in ASSP Region 8, the Region provided additional scholarships totaling $3,000.00 to the five Chapter Awardees.

Professional education grants are available for individuals within the occupational safety and health field (either students or professionals) who need financial support for certification expenses, conference attendance, webinar attendance, workshop attendance, and similar professional development support.

College courses are not covered by the professional education grant program; applicants must use the scholarship application if requesting support for college courses.

Applications for ASSP Foundation professional education grants are accepted year-round, with awards made on a rolling basis, based on availability.

More information and Applicaion Here

By Justin Koss, CSP, OHST, Executive Director, Environmental, Health & Safety at American Red Cross

I am excited to share with you about the recent event that Jocelyn Milby, CSP, Lauren Kamler, Shannon Barr and I hosted on behalf of ASSP Western Pennsylvania Chapter at the American Red Cross on March 9th, 2023. Local safety professionals joined the Red Cross team in an incredible experience to witness firsthand what happens after you donate blood at the American Red Cross.
 
Bob Davis, the tour guide, gave a very informative presentation on the manufacturing process of blood after it is donated. We were shown the facilities where the blood is tested, processed, and stored before being distributed to hospitals for life-saving transfusions.
 
Ken Geary, Executive Director, gave an inspiring presentation on the constant need for volunteers and donors like you. He explained that blood is in high demand and always needed, especially in emergency situations. It was a motivating experience to learn about the important role we can play in saving lives by donating blood or volunteering our time to support the Red Cross.
 
We were thrilled to have the opportunity to not only participate but also host the event on behalf of ASSP Western Pennsylvania Chapter. The experience allowed us to share a unique environment with our safety professional peers. Thank you to all who participated!
 
Please consider donating blood or volunteering your time to support the mission. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of those in need.

(Copied from the Linked In post posted by Justin Koss)

LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7042185089476087808/

This year the three Student Sections of SRU, IUP, and Thiel College, will be hosting a Career Center table at the 10th Annual Professional Development Conference on April 27, 2023. There is no fee to use the career center, this is a service we are offering to our conference attendees. If you are looking to fill a position or summer internship, bring a copy of your job posting or information on how to apply.  You can post these in the Career Center.   Also, if you are interested in learning more about potentially taking on an intern, stop by the Career Center to learn more about the internship process at Thiel, Slippery Rock University, and IUP. We encourage students and professionals open to work to bring copies of resumes. See the brochure.

The February Technical meeting was held at the Hampton Inn in Bridgeville PA. The Speaker was Jason Malatak CSP, MBA, Director of Risk Management, Mosites Constuction Co. speaking on the topic of “Mental Wellness Affects Safety and More” focusing on how mental wellness affects our everyday lives, especially when it comes to employee safety, production, quality and overall work-life balance.

We had 9 people at the meeting.