NEHA's Pending International Environmental Health Partner.

In early September, Executive Director Nelson Fabian and I had great expectations for our visit to England after receiving a formal invitation from David Purchon, President of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) to attend the Congress 2000 meeting in Harrogate, England. As you can imagine, we were excited and enthused to finally meet with our professional counterparts in Europe for discussions on a partnership agreement. NEHA presidents and members have been attending the CIEH congress for several years; however, this was the first year of frank and open discussions regarding partnership.

To set the stage for this meeting in England, Nelson, under the direction of NEHA's board of directors, had several preliminary meetings with his CIEH counterpart, Gary Ince, to establish an agenda for our visit. The agenda was important to ensure that we would focus on key issues for both associations.

Before I discuss partnership issues, however, let me provide a little background on CIEH for NEHA members. CIEH has a long and treasured history in England. Founded in 1883, it was granted a Royal Charter in 1984. CIEH is an independent professional body representing those who work in environmental health and related disciplines. With more than 9,000 members, the organization is a registered charity and a founding member of the International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH). (NEHA Past President Diane Evans is our official representative to IFEH.) The CIEH corporate headquarters, with more than 120 employees, is located in London, England.

In addition to ensuring the highest standards of professional competence--in the belief that through environmental health action, people's health can be improved--CIEH also aims to influence government policy through lobbying, joint initiatives, and public relations campaigns. In addition, CIEH provides education for environmental health officers and maintains liaisons with colleges and universities for professional training. Sound familiar? NEHA faces some of the same tasks on the home front,

Through its wholly owned trading subsidiary, Chadwick House Group Limited (CHGL), CIEH is the world's leading purveyor of vocational food safety training and the leading awarding body for British health and safety credentials, with over five million people certified to date.

CHGL, under the leadership of Chris Lingard, is a business organization that manages the day-to-day operations of the association. All CHGL profits from the sale of environmental health publications, training courses, and certified training go to CIEH.

Early this year, CHGL established a National Registry for Food Safety Professionals office in Orlando, Florida, with Edwin Baker, a key member of CIEH personnel, serving as general manager. The goal of this business is to provide food certification and safety training throughout the United States.

Our attendance at the Congress 2000 meeting was well received by CIEH and CHGL and was viewed as a serious commitment to partnering. Nelson and I had outstanding meetings with the CHGL leadership to discuss the potential partnering agreement. CHGL believes strongly that NEHA shares its vision, with a commitment to the mission of preserving the health of the public.

At the present time, your board of directors is reviewing the issues, including our capacity to support the CIEH request for partnering. We hope to positively address each partnering option and officially inform the council of delegates and NEHA members of the results.

This process is just one of many partnering actions on the board's agenda. We will aggressively initiate discussions with agencies, associations, and corporations that share our vision and mission. NEHA is committed to excellence, and partnering is one aspect of ensuring that we remain on the cutting edge of professionalism.