Ohio Safety Congress & Expo keeps going strong

Ohio's workplaces, like Ohio itself, have changed a great deal since 1927. One constant, however, has been the Ohio Safety Congress & Expo and its commitment to keeping the people in those workplaces healthy.

The 2002 safety congress, which will be held March 26 to 28 at the Cleveland Convention Center, is the 72nd edition of the event.

In 1927, steam-operated trains (94) and electric street railways (55) were widespread modes of transportation in Ohio.

About 27,000 companies did business here; and as one of the more industrialized states, Ohio had recorded about a third of the nation's 600,000 occupational injuries and more than 1,100 of its fatalities the previous year.

In response, the All-Ohio Safety Congress -- as it originally was known -- was born. The first congress was held Nov. 9 and 10, 1927, at the Neil House hotel in downtown Columbus.

That gathering featured topical presentations, such as "How Safety is Organized and Carried on in the Operation of Street Railways," and "The Retail Merchant and the Accident-Prevention Problem."

The Ohio Safety Congress & Expo, which it was renamed in 2000, has been held in all but four years since its inception. The safety congress was not held twice during the Great Depression; nor in 1934 because the National Safety Congress was held in Ohio; nor in 1945, the final year of World War II.

The safety congress was held exclusively in Columbus until the 1950s, when it began rotating between Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati. It returned to the capital for a brief period during a boycott by the AFL-CIO over the use of non-union facilities, but soon resumed the three-city rotation.

It also grew into the largest regional safety convention in the United States. "When I started in 1975, we had 39 exhibit booths and 1,700 people in attendance," said Larry Whalen, who managed the Ohio Safety Congress & Expo for 27 years before retiring in 2001. "Los Angeles had a larger number of exhibits, and Michigan had a larger attendance. In 1986 or 1987, we surpassed them both."

Today's safety congress annually features more than 200 exhibits, 150 educational breakout sessions and 6,000 attendees. The quality of its keynote speakers has always been a major attraction, Whalen added.

Former Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes was a key supporter of safety congress. Familiar with the event from his days as mayor of Columbus, Rhodes attended all but one during his governorship years.

Much about society has changed since 1927, and workplaces are no exception. The need for a commitment to safety in those workplaces is unchanging, however; and the Ohio Safety Congress & Expo is a perfect example.