A Message From the VPPPA Chairperson

Hello VPP Community,

As VPPPA approaches its 39th year this September, we’re reminded that our Association, much like our profession, has evolved to meet the needs of workplace safety and health. Our understanding of how the interplay of technology, processes, and even culture, affect continuous safety improvement has grown to help usher in what some (especially VPP sites) might call the “enlightened age” of workplace safety.

As Chairperson of VPPPA’s Board of Directors, I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to work alongside dedicated volunteer leaders representing the very best of our industry. Each member of our board recognizes the role that they play in helping VPPPA advance health and safety excellence. That’s why, when the board convened in Charlotte last October to begin laying the groundwork for VPPPA’s next strategic plan, our diverse group of safety professionals began with this simple question:

What is VPPPA’s mission?

Or, to put it another way, has VPPPA’s mission—the what, how, and why that defines VPPPA—evolved with the times?

After much (occasionally spirited) discussion, the consensus was this: VPPPA’s core mission is still the same as it was at that first meeting back in September of 1985, and indeed, the same as the Voluntary Protection Programs themselves—to save lives. However, the Association has grown and evolved to represent a broader audience beyond VPP sites— an audience of companies and sites, suppliers and safety professionals, united behind a singular concept:

Advancing health and safety excellence through collaboration, mentorship, and education to raise the standard for a safe and healthy workplace.

And thus, VPPPA’s new mission statement was born.

It’s a statement that recognizes the origin of the VPP and the Association while helping define what we do, how we accomplish it, and, most importantly, our continuing goal.

We are better together!

VPPPA Presents… Women in Safety

While the safety industry is still a male-dominated industry, the number of women is increasing each year. It’s important to identify and communicate the issues that women face. In each issue of the Leader, we will be including an article from a prominent woman working in the safety and health industry. If you, or someone you know, would like to write for this column, please contact VPPPA at communications@ vpppa.org

Leah Beckworth, CSP, STSC, MS, UCOR Industrial Safety Manager

Stephanie Miller, CSP, CIH, STS, MS, UCOR Safety Systems Integration Manager