LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear SEBWA Members:

Our upcoming SEBWA Fall Education Seminar & Plant Tour is all set and will take place at Highbridge Spring Water in Wilmore, Kentucky on October 22-23, 2015. The SEBWA Programs & Forums Committee, under the leadership of Clay Bell, has put together a quite informative program including an opportunity to visit one of the most interesting landscapes in the country for a bottled water plant. Highbridge Spring Water is a family-owned company that has been in business since 1982 and is located and operates in an underground limestone quarry. The Seminar program also includes a focus on safety issues in the plant, new innovative ways to store and preserve important business documents, and a look at how to manage behavior and achieve goals.

Linda Slagel, president of Highbridge Spring Water, will present an overview, history and tour of Highbridge Springs’ bottling operation. Michael Belcher, vice president of Safety and Risk for DS Services, will talk about “Good Safety is Good Business”, which will cover many of the unique safety challenges the bottled water industry faces every day. Jeff Baier and Myrna Hale of KUSI will talk about how to store and preserve important business documents as well as provide the requirements that every company should know. Velma Roppolo, Star Solutions, Inc. will present the latest requirements and updates on “Chemical Handling Safety in the Workplace”. Velma’s talk will include new OSHA regulations regarding hazard communications standards, new pictograms, new labeling for the (GHS) Global Harmonized System, new (SDS) Safety Data Sheets, and what you’ll need to know to keep your people safe. Andre Damiens, DS Services, will talk about “Managing Behavior & Achieving Goals”. Andre’s talk will cover ways to help you be successful at managing your own behavior as well as that of others while learning to set and achieve realistic goals and objectives.

2015 has been a very good year for SEBWA. Following on a successful annual convention held at Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris, GA, we’re looking forward to a great event for our members at Highbridge Spring Water. The SEBWA Membership Committee has tasked themselves this year with personally contacting each and every bottler in our region to inform them about the benefits of belonging to the Association.

If you are a current member of SEBWA, thank you! We hope that you will decide to become more involved by serving on a SEBWA committee. If you have an interest in joining a committee, please contact me or any one of the SEBWA Board Members listed in this newsletter. If you are not yet a member of SEBWA, please consider joining today. For more information about SEBWA and what the Association has to offer, visit www.sebwa.org. Please feel free to contact me personally or any one of the SEBWA Board members.

I hope to see you at Highbridge Spring Water in October!