[Pharmwaste] Laurie Tenace honored by NAHMMA for her support of the Pharmwaste listserv

[Tenace, Laurie]

Thank you for the kudos Dave and thank you to everyone who has helped make this an important method of discussing this issue!

I also want to thank Florida DEP for hosting the listserv (not sure how to spell it, a quick trip to Wiki shows me that "Listserv" is actually a trademarked name so I guess it's kind of like "Kleenex" and "Saran Wrap;" it has joined the common lexicon).This huge national communication method, whatever you want to call it, has been a unique challenge for them to keep running over the years.

Keep up all the good work, all my friends!
Laurie


Laurie Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Waste Reduction Section
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 4555
Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400
850.245.8759
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us




From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Galvin, Dave
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2014 8:47 PM
To: 'pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us'
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Laurie Tenace honored by NAHMMA for her support of the Pharmwaste listserv

I am happy to announce that the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association presented Laurie Tenace of the State of Florida's Department of Environmental Protection with its "Outstanding Personal Service Award" for 2014 at its annual conference last week in Orlando.  The award recognized Laurie for her contribution to safe and secure management of unused pharmaceuticals in the United States by launching and operating the Pharmwaste listserv, now in its tenth year.

My first contact with Laurie on this subject was in 2003 according to my email archive.  We talked briefly about the need to connect people who were interested in safe disposal of leftover medicines.  We had found the pioneers such as Christian Daughton at EPA, Dr. Stevan Gressitt in Maine and Charlotte Smith in Wisconsin, but we were a scattered lot.  In an email dated 11/12/2003, Laurie said, "It's time for us to open a national dialogue about this topic [pharmaceutical take-back]."  She and I hosted a session on pharmaceutical waste at the NAHMMA conference in Miami Beach a year later and came away with a list of people interested in talking more about it.  As the list of email addresses quickly got out of control, Laurie naively offered to host a listserv through Florida DEP!  Little did she know what she was taking on!  Email, 1/7/2005:  "Today I found out that setting up a list serve [sic] is simple and free and I can do it through FDEP (and won't mind administering it)...."    She pushed the button to launch the Pharmwaste listserv on January 10, 2005.  The rest is history.

The nomination for this award states:  "I would like to nominate Laurie Tenace from Florida DEP for an award for her incredible work over ten years to host and maintain the Pharmwaste listserv. This resource has been a key to the growth of efforts around the country regarding safe management of unused medicines. The Pharmwaste listserv is THE central forum for conversations, questions and policy initiatives on waste pharmaceuticals, both from households and also from hospitals, medical clinics and other businesses. Laurie has been tenacious at keeping this listserv operating through numerous technical glitches as well as user issues. Without question, Laurie's and DEP's dedication to this service has fostered the growth and maturation of the medicine take-back movement."

Congratulations, Laurie, for well-deserved recognition.  And thank you for persevering these ten years.  Your effort and good humor have been instrumental in helping us all address the health, safety and environmental concerns related to unused medicines.

-- Dave Galvin

_________________________________________________________
Dave Galvin * King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks * 130 Nickerson Street, Seattle, WA 98109-1658 * (w) 206-263-3085 * (fax) 206-263-3070 * dave.galvin at kingcounty.gov<mailto:dave.galvin at kingcounty.gov> * Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County * www.lhwmp.org<http://www.lhwmp.org/>

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