I am proud and honored to be here today, on the first meeting of the 2020-2021 Chesapeake Chapter, to serve you as your president for the upcoming year. 2019-2020 was a year full of surprises and challenges, that I doubt anyone could have predicted. A pandemic outbreak, shortages of PPE, stay at home orders and civil unrest, thrust safety professionals into roles they may not typically fulfill. In the past, many of us have focused primarily on workplace safety, keeping employees safe from injury. Now we were very quickly faced with major health issues, both physical and mental to deal with. Those of us, whose employers were deemed “essential” had these challenges stacked on top of their normal duties. With social distancing, sanitizing and donning masks, routine activities had new hurtles to clear. Stress at home from quarantine and financial issues jeopardized the mental well-being of our workers. Civil unrest heightened the need for strong security practices and brought the concept of workplace violence to the forefront.
Safety Professionals proved through these challenges to be just that – true professionals. However, the end is not in sight as many of these issues continue to impact our daily lives. Work practices have not and likely will never return to what used to be considered “normal”. We are in a virtual meeting now, and that will likely be our main mode of interaction into the near future. Our activities are curtailed, but our commitment and enthusiasm are not! We must look at these setbacks as the opportunities that they present. Virtual meetings and functions can meet a much greater audience and if properly structured can have a tremendous impact through the advantageous use of technology.
We definitely have challenges ahead, and these challenges will and should make us question how we operate, how we do business. Changes are necessary if we are to not only survive, but to thrive in this environment. Going forward, the status quo can serve to educate us, but should not limit our ability to adjust and meet our current and future needs. These adaptations will require a team effort, working together to plan out and execute toward reaching our goals and aspirations.
When working in a new atmosphere, a new approach will keep us strong and successful.
James F Kane
President