The Indiana Governor’s Workplace Safety Award program recognizes employers in several categories. It also acknowledges the achievement of Everyday Safety Heroes. Nominees and recipients in this award category are not necessarily safety and health professionals. Rather, they are individuals who have championed safety and health excellence at their place of work.
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Here’s a recap of the 2017 winners in the “safety heroes” category.
- Dennis DeMoss is general superintendent at Rieth-Riley, a Goshen, Indiana paving and construction company. In 2014, DeMoss’s son Coty and Coty’s coworker were tragically killed while working in an interstate work zone. In his son’s memory, Dennis started the nonprofit Road Construction Awareness Corporation. The group has successfully financed and installed safety signage in and near work zones. It also provides support for the families of deceased and injured workers in the highway construction industry.
- Larry Tames is director of laundry and transportation services for Franklin United Methodist Community, a residential care facility. Tames has led the charge on a number of changes that have prevented hazards and reduced stress for staff. One was identifying a chemical vendor that offers a color-coded, closed system to replace the previous supplier’s heavy, open buckets. Tames also was instrumental in creating the facility’s safety committee and has been active in violence prevention efforts.
- Jennifer Hart is a payroll clerk for LSC Communications of Crawfordsville, a digital printing company. She’s been active in many safety initiatives, including a Why We Work Safe program. Hart is a member of the office safety team and serves on several OSHA VPP committees.
- Tony Faris is an equipment operator for River Metals Recycling in Greensburg. Thanks to his efforts, the company become the first scrap facility to achieve certification in the Indiana Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). Faris was selected as the first nonsupervisory employee to attend a 3-day safety training for supervisors offered by the company’s corporate office. He was also instrumental in establishing a site traffic control plan, and he actively mentors new hires. Faris likes to say, “If you can’t do it safely, don’t do it.”