2012 was an interesting year to be a part of the National Safety Council. As NSC prepared for its 100th anniversary – uncovering old documents and objects to create a retrospective of the role the council has played in the safety movement – staffers and volunteers were provided with multiple opportunities to gain a new appreciation for the organization to which they dedicate so much time and effort.

Several times in 2012, Safety+Health called attention to NSC’s upcoming anniversary. Now the official anniversary year has arrived, and S+H is going to stretch a bit beyond the scope of our typical coverage by highlighting small parts of the history of NSC and occupational safety in general. Each month, S+H will highlight part of the council’s past in the “In the News” section. In addition, every month the magazine will showcase the publishing history of NSC by – just for fun – featuring one vintage advertisement that ran in this magazine. We begin by reprinting an MSA ad for a safety harness (complete with 1923 prices).

Coming back to the present, I reserved some space this month to call attention to one more group of people who work on this publication. I gave some thanks in last month’s column and felt rotten that I didn’t have enough space to mention everyone at the same time, so let me start the new year by thanking four more people: Joy Tan-Pipilas, who performs production work on both ads and editorial, and who safely navigates us through a constantly changing world of files and formats (on which I’m always several years behind); Ad Sales Manager Karen Lord and Regional Manager Jay Gerson, whose genuine belief in, and enthusiasm for, the magazine is a constant motivation; and Danielle Alejandro, whose support work for Karen and Jay helps maintain good relationships with S+H’s advertisers – without whom this magazine could not be published.

Here’s to a safe and happy 2013.

The opinions expressed in “Editor’s Note” do not necessarily reflect those of the National Safety Council or affiliated local Chapters.