2009 BCSP E-Newsletter

Congratulations! BCSP has reached its 40 year anniversary. That's four decades of striving for safety excellence on a proactive basis before regulatory organizations like OSHA even existed. I want to let everyone know, your Board of Directors is making every effort to continue that tradition and position BCSP for the future.

Although the economy has hampered many businesses, the pursuit and attainment of certifications, like the STS, has exceeded all expectations. Professionals are taking the opportunity during the economic downturn to pursue their professional development, improve themselves and benefit their employer while differentiating their abilities from their competitors.

At the end of last year, BCSP bought out the business interest in the CCHEST joint venture from the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH). The acquisition gives our organization greater flexibility and response capabilities for developing and supporting quality safety related certifications at all levels. CCHEST continued to operate in 2009 with the same governance structure. In 2010, the members of the CCHEST Board will be integrated into a combined structure with the BCSP Board and a revised edition of the STS Construction and a new STS Mining will be available.

Roger Brauer advised the Board four years ago of his intention to retire in August, 2010. Roger is internationally known as the icon for safety professionals and the leading expert in safety related certifications. He has been associated with BCSP for 26 years beginning as a volunteer Board member and the last 19 years as staff and Executive Director. He is one of the hardest working professionals I have ever had the opportunity to work with, working diligently to lead the safety discipline and BCSP. He functioned as the "face" of the safety profession in his public interactions, while continuing to manage and run the certification business. Supporting our certificants and providing a quality experience has always been of the utmost importance to him. Roger will continue his relationship in an "of counsel" capacity until retirement and hopefully in a consulting role afterwards.

A committee was established to plan a schedule and process to address Roger's retirement and assure a succession process. It quickly became evident there was only one Roger Brauer and we needed to explore how we were going to replace his capabilities. With the acquisition of CCHEST, we now had over 20,000 certificants in a $4 million enterprise and our best option was to split the functions. Last spring, the Board started the process with a nationwide search for an individual to manage the business of running and growing BCSP. After a series of interviews, Thomas Adams was selected as the new Executive Director for BCSP.

Tom is a Certified Association Executive with the majority of his career involved with the management of non-profit organizations. He brings a great deal of business acumen, having worked with domestic and international organizations in the membership and certification arenas. He most recently served as the CEO of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP), in Washington, D.C., a 21,000 member association. While there, he grew the membership by 7,000, increased the operating budget from four to ten million dollars and grew staff from 14 to 37 over a seven-year period.

To support Tom in managing BCSP and compliment his skills, the Board approved the new position of Director for Business Development. Requirements for this position included a CSP credential, a broad-based, industry-recognized career in safety and the capability to represent the benefits of certification. This summer another nationwide search was completed and at our October meeting, final interviews were conducted with Eddie Greer selected as the Director of Business Development. Eddie is a Past President of ASSE, member of the BCSP and CCHEST Board of Directors, INSHPO Board and has a career in mining, construction, government, petrochemical and general industry.

Tom, Eddie and the rest of the staff will be integral to the organic growth of the organization through our current safety related certifications, merger and acquisition of related certifications and, following the completion of the upgraded data management system in the fall of 2010, the capability to manage certification programs for others on a fee basis.

During each of our Board meetings, at least one day is dedicated to strategic planning. With the myriad of changes we have experienced this year, especially the purchase of CCHEST and a new Executive Director, planning a long-term strategy was paramount. We solicited the guidance of a professional facilitator to guide us through this process. During the fall meeting, we dedicated a day and a half to strategic and business planning for the new, integrated BCSP organization. An ad hoc committee was established with members from BCSP and CCHEST to develop and propose governance and business models for 2011 and the future.

One of the issues facing our discipline is the aging of our certificants and the academics who educate our future professionals. Our demographics indicate that over 40% of the CSP's will be eligible for retirement in the next 5 years. Similarly, the educators in our universities and colleges will also have a large number retiring in the next few years. The Board has taken a proactive approach to address this issue. Through the ASSE Foundation there are scholarships established by BCSP and CCHEST for undergraduate students in safety funded through our operating budget. A new initiative by ASSEF is to financially support two PhD candidates in safety by providing a "loan" for three years' tuition. The recipient's repayment obligations will be forgiven incrementally for each year they stay and teach at the university level. The Board approved financial support for this pilot program. With this year's online renewal, there is a link when you receive your receipt that will take you to the ASSE Foundation website where you can contribute to the BCSP and or CCHEST Scholarship funds. Please consider supporting this activity to assist the young professionals needed for our industry.

It's an honor to work with this group. It truly represents the gold standard in safety related certifications. We continue to do everything possible in providing a value added experience for the 20,000 individuals represented by the BCSP family of certifications.