Hello Ohio SOPHE Members!

I hope you are all enjoying the warm weather as we start to kick-off the summer. We have had a great start to the year in the first 6 months and I expect to continue the great things that Ohio SOPHE is doing. We currently have 126 Ohio SOPHE members and we hope that number keeps growing over the coming months! I would like to invite each of you to take advantage o the networking opportunities we have to get to know our fellow SOPHE members. We have quarterly meetings coming up on June 10, September 9 & December 9 which is an excellent chance to meet new people from around the state. And let's not forget the 40th annual Health Educator's Institute (HEI) Conference October 19 - 21 at Mohican State Park! This year for the first time HEI is combining with the Rural Health Conference to partner for an outstanding conference session! Also the National SOPHE Annual Conference is October 27-29 in Arlington, Va. This is a great way to network with professionals from across the country and see what others are doing in the world of public health education.

Besides all of the continuing education opportunities, I would like to ask each of you to help make Ohio SOPHE your own this year - become active on one of the committees, engage in the list serve and utilize the website for sharing/gathering information, starting discussions on the message board and promoting upcoming events and the good work you are doing in your community. There is a strong foundation of Health Education in Ohio and we need to stay connected and find ways to partner and promote each other so that the progress of everyone's hard work can continue. Ohio SOPHE is a successful organization because of the membership and we need you to be active and keep the wheels turning. If you have suggestions or needs to be met please share them. I look forward to seeing you throughout the rest of the year!  

Photo Above: Jaime Love (left) thanks Nichole Hodges (right) for her service as OSOPHE president, as she steps into the role during the Quarterly meeting in Dec. 2010