The meeting commenced at 2:30 p.m.
Health and Safety Expo
Mary Ann Showalter passed out Certificates of Appreciation to the VPP Steering Committee members who worked at the Health and Safety Expo in May.
VPP STAR Recognition Committee
Russ Meicenheimer reported that the STAR Recognition Committee met to discuss how the Laboratory would celebrate achieving STAR status. Suggestions ranged from buying each staff member with a trinket, such as a calculator, to having a lunchtime "party" with free Ryder's sausage dogs, chips, and pop for all staff. The committee is seeking input from the Steering Committee on which direction we should go. The Steering Committee also discussed buying 4,000 VPP Star pins to send out to staff, with a letter thanking staff for their support.
Flag Raising
The Steering Committee discussed where to display the STAR flag. Some of the committee members were looking into etiquette for displaying the flag with the United States flag, much like you see when the U.S. flag is displayed with the State of Washington flag. Another option discussed was to purchase a separate flag pole. No consensus was reached at this time.
Flag Presentation
Representatives from DOE-HQ will be onsite on either July 25 or 26 to present the flag to Dr. Powell. Mary Ann has lined up Joy Toner-Stiles to write an article for Inside PNNL, and Karen Blasdel of Communications is lining up a photographer. All Steering Committee members were asked to attend and wear their green VPP shirts, if they can make it.
Charter Committee
Nancy Isern reported that a charter has been drafted that contains the goals of the committee, but criteria on membership, officers, etc. are still needed.
Budget Committee
Russ provided the Steering Committee members with a handout detailing the proposed budget, and the Steering Committee members went over the numbers. Russ will present the proposed budget to Gary Lyons the following day.
SBMS Committee
Nancy reported that the VPP Program Description is now located in PNNL's Standards-Based Management System at http://sbms.pnl.gov/program/pd27d010.htm. Nancy explained that the description uses explicit language, so that the Steering Committee has its own autonomy.
Action Tracking System
Drue Collins provided the Steering Committee with a handout that depicts the action tracking system. According to Drue, 13 items are in the tracking system now, and they have been prioritized and assigned actions, as appropriate. The Steering Committee is the body that will make prioritization of these concerns.
OSHA 245 Class
Vern Madson reported that the OSHA 245 class will be held September 4 - 7, 2001, at HAMMER. Vern asked for volunteers from the Steering Committee to attend.
DOE/OSHA VPP Class
Vern also reported that a DOE/OSHA VPP class will be held sometime in September in Vancouver, Washington. OSHA has requested people from unique facilities. Participants must be from a STAR site, and will participate in OSHA evaluations.
Meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
