Melissa J. Ruminski

Last year I made a decision to move from the Midwest – where I’ve lived my entire life – to the Deep South.

Raising awareness of – and providing guidance on – the implementation of safety technology is a goal of the National Safety Council’s Work to Zero initiative. Its mission: to “research the most effective technologies and ways to integrate them into the workplace, provide educational resources to increase the adoption of technology, and foster key partnerships with stakeholders in the field to strengthen everyone’s work.”

I’m delighted to announce that S+H has won a 2022 Folio: Eddie Award, described by its organizers as “the most prestigious recognition program in the publishing community, recognizing excellence in editorial content and design across print and digital media.”

This month, Safety+Health presents the results of our annual Salary Survey. Big thanks to everyone who received the email questionnaire and responded. We know you have a lot of demands on your time, and we appreciate your spending some of it on us.

Even though so many COVID-19 symptoms are physical, the pandemic has pushed the topic of mental health further into the spotlight.

For many years, I was a member of the team at NSC headquarters. We took part in unannounced drills. We also responded to many real emergencies, and I heard a number of times from colleagues that having a trained team onsite made them feel safer.

After I attended my first Safety Congress & Expo, I understood why it looms so large within NSC. The event’s size and energy were like nothing I’d ever experienced at a trade show. And I’ve continued to feel that energy at each successive show.

As much as I’d like to be a hearty hiker or regard camping as something other than a nightmare, few of my encounters with wildlife have been positive.

June is National Safety Month. First announced in 1996, the annual observance encourages everyone “to help keep each other safe, from the workplace to anyplace.”

It was in the spring of 2020, typing from my kitchen table at the beginning of Illinois’ stay-at-home order, that I first invited you to fend off any feelings of COVID-19 pandemic-related isolation by spending some time each month with our "On the Safe Side" podcast hosts: S+H Associate Editors Barry Bottino, Kevin Druley and Alan Ferguson.