The Portsmouth Site Specific Advisory Board was honored at the chamber’s annual dinner in January. Pictured, left to right, are Carlton Cave (Portsmouth SSAB member), Joel Bradburne (Portsmouth SSAB deputy designated federal official), Greg Simonton (Portsmouth SSAB federal coordinator), Paul Price (chamber treasurer), Gary Cooper (chamber president), Will Henderson (Portsmouth SSAB chair), Val Francis (former Portsmouth SSAB chair), Cristy Renner (Portsmouth SSAB member), Richard Snyder (former Portsmouth SSAB Chair), Sharon Manson (former Portsmouth SSAB member), Neil Leist (Portsmouth SSAB member), Julie Galloway (Portsmouth SSAB support staff), Shirley Bandy (chamber executive director and former Portsmouth SSAB member), and Gene Brushart (former Portsmouth SSAB member).
PIKETON, Ohio – The Pike County Chamber of Commerce recently recognized the Portsmouth Site Specific Advisory Board (SSAB) as its 2015 Organization of the Year.
Established in 2008, the board provides community input and recommendations to EM. It has weighed in on numerous site issues, including budget, waste management and disposition, decontamination and decommissioning activities, environmental restoration, future land use, historic preservation, and community engagement.
“The Portsmouth SSAB has been a leader in the community and routinely provides advice that is relevant and objective, and we have taken that advice to heart in our decision-making processes,” said Joel Bradburne, EM Portsmouth Site lead for the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office. Bradburne is the board’s deputy designated federal official. “These volunteers work hard and dedicate their time to make sure EM has a good understanding of what’s important to the community.”
In 2015, the board passed four recommendations dealing with community investment provisions for site contracts, support for asset recovery and recycling programs, project planning, and waste disposition.
“Our board has worked very hard and we’re humbled to be recognized by the Pike County Chamber of Commerce for our efforts,” said board chair Will Henderson. “We’d also like to thank DOE for providing the resources necessary to keep the community engaged in these complex topics. We believe this is important work and we’re appreciative that other members of our community recognize what we do.”
The board’s leaders participate in meetings of the EM SSAB, a national board with members of local boards from across the nation.
David Borak, the designated federal official for the SSAB program at EM’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., said Portsmouth’s representatives play an integral role at the national level and have been at the forefront of EM SSAB initiatives.
“DOE would like to congratulate the members of the Portsmouth SSAB for this recognition,” Borak said. “The goal of our program is to involve stakeholders more directly in DOE cleanup decisions and this award indicates the board has garnered the respect of the community.”
Shirley Bandy, the chamber’s executive director, said the board’s leadership on EM activities was worthy of recognition.
“The members of this board bring a range of valuable skills and experience and that diversity has been beneficial to DOE and beneficial to the citizens of Pike County,” Bandy said. “The chamber believed their dedication to providing DOE a community voice was worthy of this honor.”