Here are some thoughts I’d like to share with you about ISCO’s past and future.

When ISCO was founded in 1984, its focus was support of government agencies in dealing with environmental issues.  Since then, our mission has expanded to serve as a voice for the response industry as well as providing advice and support to national governments and international organizations.   This reflects the growing sophistication and complexity of our profession.

In 2005, the organization re-launched itself, and what followed was an increase in membership and in readership of the ISCO Newsletter.

In 2007 we were granted consultative status with IMO as an NGO for oil and hazardous substances pollution control activities, and we’re very pleased that IMO acknowledges our participation.

Recently, our presence at the various spill control conferences has led more professionals to become aware of and appreciate the information ISCO provides in the weekly newsletter.  This has encouraged us to consider inaugurating an international conference next year.

Now we are ready to start up our Professional Membership initiative, which has been requested by many who are active in pollution control.

I’m very proud to be associated with John McMurtrie, our Secretary and Editor, and want to acknowledge him for his tireless efforts and commitment in what we are doing for environmental issues.  He is a driving force in helping the membership grow, something we need to support these activities and programs.

We’re thankful for the participation of all the members we have, and we encourage those who are not yet members to join.  This is an exciting time for ISCO.