People on the Move.

Mike Halko, Former NEHA Officer, Crisscrosses the World

Former regional vice president tar Region I, Mike Halko, has been on the move professionally and personally since October 1999. After 12 years of environmental health work in Alaska, first with the U.S. Army in Fort Richardson, then with the Indian Health Service at the Alaska Native Medical Center, he has taken a position 6,000 miles away in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, working in the Vessel Sanitation Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His new duties include routine inspections of foreign flag vessels calling on U.S. ports, training of industry food service managers and engineers, design review activities at European shipyards, and international environmental health assistance--which means helping establish a similar program in Egypt.

On a personal note, Mike successfully completed the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Foot Race from Squaw Valley to Auburn, California, a week after NEHA's Annual Educational Conference (AEC) in Denver, at which he shared his platform as a candidate for NEHA second vice president.

Trying to keep in touch with friends and family is always a challenge when the job has you on the road 70 percent of the time. On a recent New York trip, Mike made a brief appearance on the "Today Show" with Al Roker. The clever weatherman joked that Mike had said hello to his dog, Eiger, before his wife. Sounds like something a real Alaskan would do--but it was not the case, according to Mike.

In February, Mike was also named the Alaskan Sanitarian of the Year for 1999 for his numerous years of environmental health activities on the "Last Frontier." Never one to stay away from home too long, Mike gets back to Alaska on a monthly basis and is looking forward to the 2004 AEC in Anchorage.