In 1947, Louisiana Association of Sanitarians (LAS)was formed through the efforts of Dr. Ben Freedman, H. Luther Hortman,
Floyd M. Miller, Graves J. (Tiny) Grant, A.G. Owens, and Matt Bulliung. Later helpers were Thomas Oates, John Fulco, John Reimer,
Andrew Fontenot, J.G. Higgs, John Siedler, E.J. Sylvester, Joseph Earl Newman, Opha Trapp, Charles H. Gillham, and Osborne Willis.
The year was 1948, the Louisiana Association of Sanitarians is formed as an affiliate of the National Association of Sanitarians.
Graves J. "Tiny" Grant is elected our
FIRST President. The primary
goal of LAS was to improve the professional status and education of sanitarians.
In 1949,
Joseph E. Newman is elected as our
SECOND President. The National
Association of Sanitarians adopts its first Code of Ethics.
Our
THIRD President,
A.J. Owens, is elected in 1950. The NAS Executive Committee
is created by the NAS By-laws change.
The year was 1951 and
Floyd M. Miller is our
FOURTH President.
Our
FIFTH President was
Fred R. Bass in 1952.
In 1953,
Lloyd H. Methe is elected as our
SIXTH President.
The year was 1954 and
John G. Higgs is our
SEVENTH President. Act 371 of
1954, known as the Louisiana Sanitarian Licensing Law, was passed by the Louisiana Legislature, providing for the professional
licensing of sanitarians, creating the Nation. s fifth Sanitarian Registration Act. This act was to take effect in 1955. Those
whose efforts succeeded in getting the Louisiana Sanitarian Licensing Law passed by the legislature were Graves J. (Tiny) Grant,
A.G. Owens, Lloyd Methe, Floyd Miller, Luther Hortman, and Dr. Ben Freedman. Racial segregation in public schools was
unanimously ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. NEHA holds its national conference in New Orleans, where Floyd M. Miller
of Shreveport, LAS President in 1951, assumes the presidency of the National Association of Sanitarians. A rift exists between
factions in LAS. One faction supported the professional licensing of Sanitarians and the requirement of a college degree and
the other did not. This rift eventually resulted in the separation of a number of Sanitarians to form the Louisiana Association
of Professional Sanitarians, part of a multi-state group headquartered in Oklahoma. Membership in LAS declined for several years.
Eventually, the rift disappeared mainly because the Sanitarians Licensing Law required incoming Sanitarians to have a college
degree and apply for a license. Supporters for licensing and a college degree became the majority and the opposing faction disappeared
after several years.
Our
EIGHTH President,
Andrew P. Fontenot, is elected in 1955.
The year was 1956 and
A. M. Bulliung is our
NINTH President.
In 1957,
Jack J. Moisant is our
TENTH President. Hurricane Audrey hits
Cameron Parish, killing over 500 people. Tremendous effort was put forth by Sanitarians and engineers in the area of drinking
water, wastewater treatment, management of livestock, and solid waste disposal.
Our
ELEVENTH President is
Charles H. Triche, elected in 1958.
The year was 1959 and
Peter A. Weier, Jr. is our
TWELFTH President.
In 1960,
Charles H. Gillham is our
THIRTEENTH President.
The year was 1961 and
Otto Bolin is our
FOURTEENTH President.
Our
FIFTEENTH president, in 1962, is
W.F. Strickland.
The year was 1963 and
R.J. LaFleur is our
SIXTEENTH President.
In 1964,
Jefferson T. Tessier is elected as our
SEVENTEENTH President.
The year was 1965 and
Dudley J Simmerly is our
EIGHTEENTH President.
Our
NINETEENTH President was
Elmer L. Dunnehoo in 1966. Elmer repeated as
our
TWENTIETH and
TWENTY-FIRST President for 1967 and 1968.
The year was 1969 and
Kenneth L. Copes is our
TWENTY-SECOND President. Dr.
Ben Freedman wins the Walter S. Mangold Award at the NEHA Annual Conference
In 1970, A.M. Bulliung, who was our
NINTH President, repeated as our
TWENTY-THIRD
President. The NAS changed its name to the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA). The LAS also voted in 1970 to change
its name to the Louisiana Environmental Health Association (LEHA), and began accepting non-sanitarian professional environmental
health practitioners into its ranks. However, these non-sanitarians were accepted at that time as non-voting associate members only.
Our
TWENTY-FOURTH President was
Walter P. Morse, Jr. in 1971.
In 1972,
Robert McMullen is our
TWENTY-FIFTH President. Robert repeated in
1973, serving as our
TWENTY-SIXTH President. Lead poisoning prevention programs are started in Orleans
Parish. Charles Gillham of Lake Charles, LAS Past-president (1960), assumes the presidency of NEHA.
Our
TWENTY-SEVENTH President is
James J. Balsamo, Jr. in 1974. The Tri-Parish
tumor registry is established for Jefferson, Orleans, and St. Bernard parishes.
Horace J. Thibodaux is our
TWENTY-EIGHTH President in 1975.
The year was 1976 and
Frank L. Dautriel is our
TWENTY-NINTHPresident.
Dr. Victor Monsour is our
THIRTIETH President in 1977. Margaret Soulie
(now Margaret Becnel) became the first woman to serve on LEHA's Board of Directors. The Scholarship Fund Award was instituted
as well as the Student Paper Award and the Outstanding Sanitarian Award. With the assistance of Thomas Schexnayder, an attorney
and LEHA member, LEHA became incorporated on May 16 under the laws of the state as a non-profit corporation.
In 1978,
Stephen W. Lam is our
THIRTY-FIRST President. The LEHA President's
Award (gavel plaque), the Certificate of Merit Award and the Presidential Citation Award are originated. H.B. 1396 and H.B.
1257 were proposed to splinter the environmental health programs away from the Department of Health and Human Resources, Office
of Health Services and Environmental Quality. Both bills were overwhelmingly defeated with assistance by several resolutions
sponsored by LEHA.
Our
THIRTY-SECOND President is
William Barlow in 1979. Martha Scott and Claude
Lewis became the first African-Americans to serve on LEHA's Board of Directors. Act 449 of 1979 was passed by the legislature
which transferred certain environmental health programs under DHHR to the Department of Natural Resources' Office of Environmental
Affairs effective January 1, 1980.
The year was 1980 and just like a bad penny
Elmer L. Dunnehoo appears again as our
THIRTY-THIRD President. Lead poisoning programs are extended throughout Louisiana.
In 1981 and
B.J. McConathy is our
THIRTY-FOURTH President. Charles H. Gillham,
LEHA and NEHA Past President, wins the Walter F. Snyder Award at the NEHA Annual Conference. This year is recognized as the start
of the AIDS epidemic in Louisiana.
The year was 1982 and
Stephen W. Lam serves again as our
THIRTY-FIFTH President,
having served as our THIRTY-FIRST President in 1978. LEHA hosts the NEHA's AEC in New Orleans in June or July. President Steve Lam
who formed a special committee to discuss accepting non-sanitarian environmental health professionals into the association as active,
voting members to increase the association's overall membership. The committee met in August 1982 in Lafayette and later recommended
to the Board that it propose such acceptance to the full membership at LEHA's 1983 AEC.
The year was 1983 and
Clifton Murphy is our
THIRTY-SIXTH
president. The LEHA active membership, i.e., sanitarians only at the time, voted to accept the change in the LEHA Constitution so
as to begin accepting non-sanitarian environmental health professionals as active, voting members. This change then opened the doors
for all environmental professionals to join an organization which could speak as one unified voice for its members. Act 97 of 1983
was passed by the legislature which created the Department of Environmental Quality effective February 1, 1984.
The year was 1984 and
James J. Balsamo, Jr. serves again as our
THIRTY-SEVENTH
President, having served as our
TWENTY-SEVENTH President in 1974. The Outstanding Professional
Environmentalist Award is instituted as an equivalent award to the existing Outstanding Registered Sanitarian Award but its
purpose is to especially honor the contributions of non-sanitarian environmental health professionals.
The year was 1985 and
Ben Potier is our
THIRTY-EIGHTH President.
The year was 1986 and
Patricia (Pat) Bedenbaugh is our
THIRTY-NINTH and
first woman President. The Outstanding Professional Environmentalist Award is renamed the Outstanding Environmental Professional
Award.
The year was 1987 and
Walter Hulon is our
FORTIETH President.
The year was 1988 and
Dr. A.J. England is our
FORTY-FIRST President.
The year was 1989 and
Sidney G. Becnel is our
FORTY-SECOND President.
The year was 1990 and
Dr. James H. Brent is our
FORTY-THIRD President.
The year was 1991 and
Austin Arabie is our
FORTY-FOURTH President.
The year was 1992 and
Paul Miller is our
FORTY-FIFTH President.
The year was 1993 and
Peter A. Romanowsky is our
FORTY-SIXTH President.
The year was 1994 and
Thomas H. Patterson is our
FORTY-SEVENTH President.
The year was 1995 and
Tim Knight is our
FORTY-EIGHTH President. Bogalusa
experiences a nitrogen tetroxide release.
The year was 1996 and
Jodi G. Miller is our
FORTY-NINTH President. The Red
Tide is in Louisiana waters. Most significant for this year are the passings of Dr. Ben Freedman, M.D., M.P.H. on November 14,
1996 and Frank L. Dautriel on September 2, 1996. Dr. Freedman was author of the "Sanitarians Handbook", a internationally-recognized
pioneer Sanitarian, and recipient of countless awards in his field. Frank Dautriel served as President of LEHA in 1976 and
Treasurer from 1977-94. No other name appears as prominently in the Association's records than does the name of Frank L. Dautriel.
The year is 1997 and
Roger Gingles is our
FIFTIETH President.
The year is 1998 and
Claude Lewis is our
FIFTY-FIRST President.
The year is 1999 and
Sharon G. Parkeris our
FIFTY-SECOND President.
The West Nile virus is detected in New York City.
The year is 2000 and
Michael Vince is our
FIFTY-THIRD President.
The year is 2001 and
Joan Adams is our
FIFTY-FOURTH President. This was the
year of the September Eleventh terrorist attacks on the New York City World Trade Center Twin Towers and on the Pentagon in
Washington, DC. Heroic Americans brought down a third plane in the fields pf Pennsylvania, preventing a third attack.
Jim Balsamo is elected as the NEHA Second Vice-President and is on track to being NEHA President in 2004. Jim also receives
the Davis Calvin Wagner Award from the American Academy of Sanitarians this year.
The year is 2002 and
Ed Flynn is our
FIFTY-FIFTH President. Louisiana is hit
hard by Tropical Storm Isidore and Hurricane Lili late in the hurricane season. Louisiana's three year drought finally ends.
The state has its first large outbreak of West Nile encephalitis.
The year is 2003 and
Marian Aguillard is our
FIFTY-SIXTH President.
There is war against terrorism in Iraq and the US captures long time Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. NEHA publishes
"Messages in the Dust: What are the Lessons of the Environmental Health Response to the Terrorist Attacks of September 11?"
The norovirus caused illnesses aboard cruise ships and disrupted cruise travel.
The year is 2004 and
Walter G. Pichon III is our
FIFTY-SEVENTH President.
