May 2019 Executive Directors Blog

Hello CSSGA Membership.  Welcome to today’s blog and welcome to May.  The year is moving at a fast pace and hopefully it has been a good one so far.  Here are a few highlights regarding what is going on:

• The Colorado Legislative Session comes to a close today, Friday, May 3^rd.  It has been a very active Legislative Session and I need to thank our lobbyist, Totsy Rees, for all her work and dedication at the Capitol again this year.  Totsy’s leadership, along with that of our Legislative Sub-Committee led by Ben Frei (CSSGA) has focused on what is best for our membership.  Thanks to those who have shown up Monday mornings at the Capitol basement and helped us with the fight!
• I must also personally thank Totsy, Senator Jerry Sonnenberg, and the Legislative Sub-Committee for nominating me for recognition from the Colorado State Senate.  This occurred in the Senate Chamber on April 23, and I am very grateful to these individuals for making this happen.  I appreciate all they do for our industry.
• While it is important to be engaged in Colorado politics, it is also critical to be involved at the national level.  There are endless items to address at the US level, however the one I would encourage you to participate with is the Transportation & Construction Coalition (TCC) Fly-In in Washington DC on May 13-15.  This nationally organized event gives us face-to-face interaction with our US Senators and Representatives.  We will encourage them to TAKE ACTION and not make our crumbling infrastructure a partisan issue.  Imagine that, we all see the problem and we must insist Congress finds a solution, not simply posture for the next election cycle.  Also, I encourage you to take action on the current Funding Action Alert.  This communicates directly with those in Washington that our expectations are clear.  FUND A FIX!!
• CSSGA has some great events that I would encourage you to take advantage of.  In April, we had a very successful networking Event at the Governor’s Mansion in Denver.  As we move around the state, the Summer Networking Event will be held in downtown Colorado Springs at the Phantom Canyon Brewery.  I would encourage you to use this link to register and participate on Tuesday, June 18 at 5:30.  These are always a great opportunity to network and interact with producer and associate members from various aspects of our association.
• We continue to drive safety with our Safety Training, as well as ongoing interaction with MSHA.  On Thursday, May 2, I participated in a webinar in cooperation with MSHA and NSSGA.  Assistant Secretary David G. Zatezalo opened the webinar with remarks and made himself available for questions at the close.  MSHA staff members then went into specifics of the 5 mining fatalities that occurred in 2019.  This was very educational in learning for mistakes in an effort to ensure they are not repeated.  MSHA staff also discussed equipment fire issues, gave an update on training grants, the importance of the Spring Thaw Training Sessions, and walked through highlights of the updated Mine Data Retrieval System.  This webinar is recorded and available on the msha.gov website.  I believe this is a solid example of MSHA leadership working to engage with the industry and work together on solutions.

Thanks for all you do for the industry and your commitment to CSSGA.  I appreciate all the help we receive from our dedicated members.  Let either me or Annelise know if we can be of assistance.  Thanks again.