Congratulations to CTC's Doug Meyers who was recently elected Director-at-Large for the Region III Voluntary Protection Program Participant's Association's (VPPPA) Board of Directors. Doug's visible and active role in this organization supports CTC's growing leadership position within the VPPPA community. CTC operates the Department of Defense (DoD) VPP Center of Excellence, and the Johnstown facilities will apply for VPP STAR status in 2008.

Doug comes to CTC from a specialty coating firm where he worked for nine years developing and continually improving an occupational health and safety management system and leading the organization to achieve VPP STAR status in 2001.

The VPPPA's stated mission is, "to be a leader in health, safety and environmental excellence through cooperation among communities, workers, industries and governments." Headquartered in Falls Church, VA, the VPPPA national organization is sub-divided into ten regions, matching the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) ten regions. Region III includes Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Maryland and Delaware.

Jeff Anderson, CTC Manager, Safety System and Technologies, DoD VPP Center of Excellence, explains:

"As a Regional Board Member, Doug will volunteer his time to assist the VPPPA in planning and organizing their annual professional development conference as well as various other activities in support of OSHA's VPP efforts in Region III. Doug's participation on the Region III VPPPA Board of Directors will facilitate his ability to build relationships with private industry and government leaders in Voluntary Protection Programs, bring best practices back to CTC in support of the Johnstown facility's quest for VPP STAR status, and advance the positive image of the CTC-operated DoD VPP Center of Excellence."

This will be Doug's second term as a VPPPA board member; he was elected by the organization's membership in 2002 and 2005. Anderson notes that the unanimous vote by the current board members to re-elect Doug as a Director-at-Large following his move to CTC is "a testament to the professional reputation he has built within the community of world-class health and safety organizations."

Doug joined CTC on October 15, 2007, as a VPP Specialist supporting the DoD VPP Center of Excellence clients and the CTC – Johnstown VPP initiative.