Inaugural Safety Ambassador

SWANA's Safety Ambassador initiative, created in 2016, identified a member at each chapter as a local resource for safety measures. The goal of SWANA's Safety Matters Program is to reduce accidents and injuries and move the waste collection industry off of the federal government’s list of 10 most dangerous jobs. Dennis Batts, Program Manager in the Emergency Operations and Safety Department of Public Works and Environmental Services Division of Solid Waste for Fairfax County was appointed Safety Ambassador of the Old Dominion Chapter in the fall of 2017.

As the first Safety Ambassador Dennis planned the annual Health and Safety Training and organized the safety session at the annual conference. The Ambassador attends the safety meetings at SWANA National and the Old Dominion board meetings to provide a safety report. Dennis also utilized the mail list and website to quickly provide information to the membership on safety topics.

Dennis' dedication to the issue of safety in the solid waste industry has been evident in his passion to reduce accidents and injuries and being the go-to person for safety resources in the chapter. After seven years as the chapter's ambassador, Dennis is stepping down in this position, but the Board of Directors and members of the Old Dominion chapter thank Dennis for his long and enthusiastic service to the chapter.