Committees

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The West Virginia Association of Sanitarians are always looking for volunteers to serve on WVAS committees to help us make our vision a reality. We'll help you find a way to volunteer that best suits you. 

The WVAS standing committees include:

• Awards - 
• Audit - Stan Mills
• By-Laws - Mike Bolen 
• Interstate Environmental Health Seminar - Bill Nestor
• Legislative - 
• Nominating - Bill Nestor
• Program Planning - Stan Mills

The WVAS special committees include:

• Event Planning - Mark Hawkins
• Membership - Bob Custard

We are always looking for nominees for each elected office. 

• Candidates must submit written acceptance prior to being placed on the ballot.
• Candidates must supply written bio (short) along with a picture.
• Candidates will be published on a ballot with bio’s on the WVAS website, and a ballot will be sent to membership.
• Candidates must meet requirements in the By-Laws prior to being placed on the ballot.

Ballot with pictures and bio’s of all nominees will be placed at the voting booth during conference 

Option #1

• Print the ballot
• Check the box next to the candidate you are voting for each office. 
• Mail the completed ballot to: WVAS, PO Box 334, Kingwood, WV 26537
• Legibly sign the upper left-hand corner of the envelope you use to mail the ballot. (Envelopes that do not have a legible signature will not be counted.)  Each ballot must be in an individual sealed envelope with the signature of the person voting, if multiple envelopes are mailed together.
• If using option #1, mail the completed ballot must reach the PO Box by Friday September 13, 2024.

Option #2:

• Cast your vote in person at the WVAS Annual Conference on September 19, 2024 during the WVAS Section Meeting. Ballot box will be open until 12 noon on that day. 

Send us an email and let us know where you think you could help out. We're excited to have you join the team!  

Vice President Candidates

Bob Custard, REHS, CP-FS, CPO-I:

In 2018, Bob began working to stabilize the environmental health program in Jefferson County, West Virginia, after they lost all four of their sanitarians. Under his leadership they have rebuilt the EH program there and have begun working to mee the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards. They currently meet five of the nine Program Standards and hope to meet three more this year. They have qualified for numerous EH grants and four student interns from FDA and CDC through NEHA, AFDO, and NACCHO.

Bob currently chairs the Membership Committee for the WV Association of Sanitarians. In that position, he championed the elimination of WVAS dues and extending WVAS membership to all sanitarians licensed in WV. Bob also was the architect of the WV Retail Program Standards Collaborative. Through the Collaborative’s efforts the number of local health departments actively working on meeting the Retail Food Program Standards has increased from four to eighteen. The Collaborative brought more than $400,000 in federal grant money to WV in 2024.

Previously, for 28 years (1987-2014), Bob served as an environmental health professional at the state and local levels in Virginia. For the thirteen years prior to his retirement from the Virginia Department of Health, Bob was the Environmental Health Manager of Alexandria. Before that, Bob coordinated Virginia’s statewide environmental health training program for ten years.

In 2015, Bob created Environmental Health Leadership Partners, a consulting firm specializing in environmental health leadership development and management. As a consultant, Bob has facilitated training coursed, evaluated environmental health programs, and represented national organizations at professional conferences. Bob is passionate about mentoring emerging environmental health leaders. He was driving force behind the creation and development of NEHA’s Environmental Health Leadership Academy.

Bob has made six trips to Africa and one trip to Romania to assist various charitable organizations with improving water quality. In 2010, Bob and his wife, Rosalind, a public health laboratory scientist, formed Global Environmental Health Partnerships in order to leverage their work in the Developing World. 

Bob Custard is a Past-President (2015-2016) of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA). He served on the NEHA Board of Directors for fourteen years (2003-2017). He has been a frequent EH conference speaker at NEHA and in WV, VA, DC, NJ, and MO.

Bob is a graduate of the College of William and Mary with a B.S. in Geology. He holds NEHA’s REHS and CP-FS credentials and is a Registered Sanitarian I the State of West Virginia. He is also a Certified Pool Operator-Inspector through the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance.