Press Release

GOSHRM Wins Two Awards for Community Impact on Opioid Crisis

Issued by Greater Orlando Society for Human Resource Management [GOSHRM]

Jan. 11, 2023

GOSHRM Celebrates Award-Winning 2022 with Focus on Opioid Addiction in the Workplace

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports over 107,000 Americans died of an overdose in the 12 months ending December 2021. 70% of illicit drug users are employed, and 67% of HR managers admit that substance misuse is a serious problem in the workplace.

Motivated by these startling statistics, GOSHRM submitted for and won both SHRM’s 2022 Pinnacle Award and the HR Florida Chapter Excellence Award. These unprecedented accomplishments recognized GOSHRM at both the national and state level. The winning program was a collaborative effort between GOSHRM, ICARE, Project Opioid and CareerSource Central Florida to raise awareness and mitigate opioid addiction in the workforce.

Project Opioid partnered with CareerSource Central Florida (CSCF), a local workforce board, to provide training to local businesses in Central Florida. In March of 2021, CSCF launched “Fostering Opioid Recovery through Training & Employment” (FORTE). CSCF contracted with ICARE to design, develop and deliver the Certified Facilitator in Addiction Awareness for Human Resources (CFAA-HR) program. To ensure the success of this critical project, ICARE reached out to GOSHRM for assistance.

Covid was hugely challenging for GOSHRM, according to GOSHRM Past President Merriwether, “Being able to partner with other community-based organizations to impact individual lives, (and by extension families, workplaces and our community at large) helped us pull together, commit to, promote, participate in and celebrate our collaborative accomplishments,” she said. “Together we created something of significance that had a positive impact, that was recognized at both the state level by the HR Florida Chapter Excellence award and nationally by SHRM through the Pinnacle Award.”

The FORTE initiative continues into 2023, and as a result of the community collaboration, and has expanded beyond Central Florida to an international level.

GOSHRM President’s Vision for 2023

“My goal for GOSHRM is to guide the organization to be the leading HR point of contact for Central Florida to bring HR professionals and business leaders together to elevate the HR profession,” said GOSHRM President, McGee. “An example of this was our Pinnacle Award winning collaboration with Project Opioid, CareerSource Central Florida and ICARE. We will continue to look for other opportunities to collaborate and impact our community in 2023.”

About GOSHRM

GOSHRM was founded in 1957 as the Central Florida Human Resources Association (CFHRA). It is one of the 575 local affiliate chapters of SHRM, and one of 28 local chapters in the State of Florida. GOSHRM has more than 600 HR and related professional members who represent and provide support to small, medium and large size employers across multiple counties in Central Florida. GOSHRM’s Mission, Vision and Values are as follows:

MISSION - Elevate people and workplaces through education, connections and service. VISION - Make Central Florida a workplace destination of choice. VALUES – Offer Continuous Development to enhance each member's role as trusted advisers and valued business partners.

GOSHRM encourages the active participation of members and promotes interaction between chapter members, from students to long-time industry professionals, in an effort to better connect the HR community in the Greater Orlando area. GOSHRM is the only Society for Human Resource Management affiliated chapter in the greater Orlando area. For more information visit http://www.goshrm.org.

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