A Closer Look: Adam Lathrop

Executive director, Iowa-Illinois Safety Council

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Adam Lathrop was promoted to executive director of the Iowa-Illinois Safety Council in July. He began working for the nonprofit organization a year earlier as assistant executive director. He succeeded Laura Johnson, who retired after 10 years as executive director. A chapter of the National Safety Council, the IISC focuses on educating its nearly 1,000 member organizations on workplace safety issues and promoting professional development. The organization conducts safety training sessions throughout Iowa and Illinois, and also performs customized on-site training for companies. Lathrop is now leading initiatives to broaden the organization’s membership base and expand its menu of programs, among them offering Specialist in Safety and Health certification. 

What interested you in joining the Iowa-Illinois Safety Council? 
Before this I worked (as director of community nutrition) for Meals on Wheels; I did that for about three years, and I really loved that work. I really enjoyed helping people to stay in their homes and stay healthy. As time went on, I found I wanted to expand my reach in the number of people I could touch. With this organization being in two states rather than one county, our focus is throughout communities, workplaces and roadways. That’s a pretty large reach. 

Tell me about the safety council’s history and purpose. 
It started in the 1950s with insurance professionals from EMC Insurance, John Deere and Pioneer coming together and realizing there really wasn’t a resource for people to get safety information that they needed. The first actual staff person came on board in the early 1980s when the National Safety Council approached us to be a chapter. From there, we’ve grown into more of what you see today with a focus on membership and training. Of all the things we do, we want to make sure that when people leave for work in the morning that they’re going to come home at night.

How much of the IISC’s programs are focused on workplace safety versus other areas? 
We probably focus on workplace safety more than anything else. Our affiliation with the National Safety Council allows us to branch out a bit, but they take a lead on national issues such as opioid addiction and safe driving. But we’ll certainly get involved if there’s something locally we can help with. Even with defensive driving, that’s something that we hope workers will bring back to their homes. 

How has membership been trending?  
Membership has been a tough nut to crack since I started here. The trend is that people aren’t paying for memberships just to be members. So what we’re doing is trying to find ways we can show people the value of the membership. That’s something that we started working really hard on, and we have some things we’re going to roll out real soon that show the value of membership that you can put a dollar amount on. 

What are some of the key training services you offer to companies? 
We do a lot of different things. The first aid training is probably one of the bigger ones that we do. Outside of that, we are involved in a lot of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) compliance training, everything from forklift safety to accident investigation and record keeping. What we’re taking a look at for this next year is the SSH (Specialist in Safety and Health) certification, which is an OSHA-recognized certification program that really allows people to take their safety training to the next level. It allows them to be more recognized as an expert in safety and health if they change jobs. It’s a very highly regarded certificate in the safety and health industry. 

Other emerging employee safety trends the council is taking a look at? 
I recently just had a conversation with the gentleman from OSHA about that. Trendwise, we’re not seeing anything in particular that’s becoming more of an issue outside of some of the usual suspects. Slips, trips and falls are the No. 1 cause of time away from work. You don’t think of that as being the case, but the data says otherwise. 

Does the IISC lobby for changes in safety-related state legislation? 
We’re a 501(C)3, which means we can’t do a lot of lobbying. We did do some on the graduated driver’s license program a few years ago, but we don’t do a lot of that. The way we try to approach that is by making sure our membership has the information they need so they can get involved at any level they wish. 

What are your funding sources? 
We’re a membership organization, so membership dues are a piece of that. We also have fees for our training; members obviously get a reduced fee for that training. We also sell safety and health products, and we’re a resource for training materials. We also sell AEDs (automated external defibrillators) and we are really competitive in that market, especially as more and more people recognize the value of having those if there is an incident. 

How widespread is your training? 
We hold training sessions all over Iowa and Illinois, but we also have the ability to do customized training on-site. If somebody has an issue they need help with and they’re not able to get to one of our training locations, we can come to their facilities as well. We primarily deal with medium to small businesses. We also have companies as large as John Deere that are members down to one-person companies who get training on a consulting basis. We deal with a lot of businesses that are small enough that they don’t have their own dedicated safety person, but they recognize the need is there. One of the things we’re working on is something for the person in a company who wears multiple hats. A lot of times safety falls on human resources folks by default, and they don’t necessarily have all the training they need. 

You’re on the board of the Pet Project Midwest. How did you get involved? 
I got involved when I was with Meals on Wheels. What we found was that a lot of times when people had pets, they were sharing the food we brought as a Meals on Wheels person with their pets. So the person wasn’t getting the nutrition they needed; the pets weren’t getting the nutrition they needed. So we were able to partner with the Pet Project to get pet food for those folks that we could deliver with the meals. When I left Meals on Wheels, the Pet Project invited me to join their board. 

Hobbies? 
I like to play golf; I like to ride my bike. I’m in the process of restoring an International Scout. I found one and I was pretty excited to get my hands on it, but it needs some work.