A distinguished award, the Everyday Safety Hero Award recognized those Hoosiers who have championed workplace safety and health excellence in their respective workplaces. Individuals, who may not be safety and health professionals, were nominated by their peers or organizations. Winners were selected based on a narrative provided by their respective nominators. This special award gives Indiana's businesses and organizations an opportunity to recognize a member of their staff for their dedication to workplace safety.
Rich Cox
Operations Manager for Whitesville Mill Service (Crawfordsville, Indiana)
Rich puts safety first for all Mill employees.
He holds daily safety meetings and takes input received from all employees very seriously. If there is any issue needing addressed; be it an incident, near miss, or a simple observation; Rich is quick to correct it. He shares knowledge he gains from training, and politely explains the impact of violations to help everyone understand their importance. Rich not only helps his operation, but networks with other steel mills to create and apply best practices he has learned.
Alma Cornejo
Team Leader for MacLellan Integrated Services at SRG Evansville (Evansville, Indiana)
Alma is a Team Leader with 21 years at MacLellan Integrated Services. Alma’s priority is to make sure everyone around her goes home in the same shape in which they came to work. She has a continuous drive for improvement and is focused not just on the outcome, but for the entire process from start to finish. She carefully examines every step of the process to find risks in order to eliminate or mitigate the hazards. Time and time again, she has been recognized for her involvement in many outstanding safety improvements.
James Carey
Team Leader for MacLellan Integrated Services at Subaru Lafayette (Lafayette, Indiana)
James is a self-proclaimed “Weekend Warrior.”
James often goes above and beyond his duty to ensure both quality and safety procedures are met. James can regularly be found preparing team member equipment and PPE; so that it was ready to go when they returned from break. James has learned to navigate the company’s safety matrix and training cycle to ensure all employees are current with their safety training. James has been performing safety audits and has built an ongoing relationship with the company’s customer safety manager.
Manny Myers
Sanitation Supervisor for Red Gold, Inc. (Elwood, Indiana)
Manny maintains the highest standards for safety at the company’s Elwood sanitation department.
Manny and his Red Gold team have to manage daily risks involved with chemical handling, and tight production schedules. Manny leads by example and is continuously looking for ways to do things efficiently, and in the safest manner possible. He has gone above and beyond to create his own department training matrix to make sure no one is left behind. Other departments are reviewing his matrix for future application to their own programs. Manny has also taken on the task of leading the first shift safety team. He challenges them to look at old processes in new ways, and puts together extra safety information and statistics to supplement the basic information reviewed monthly.
David Ranney
Glass Handler for Cardinal IG (Fremont, Indiana)
David has been with Cardinal IG since 1999. David has held several jobs titles during his with Cardinal IG. He has been active in improving the safety culture and always leads by example. Through his participation in safety inspections, and assistance in creating safe work procedures, he has become the go-to-employee for new safety projects. David has been instrumental in the company’s journey to VPP certification and the SAFESTART program. David is always one of the first trainers to volunteer to lead the training sessions.
Lyle Williams
Shop Supervisor for Phoenix Fabricators and Erectors, LLC (Avon, Indiana)
Lyle has been with Phoenix for more than 40 years. Phoenix fabricates and erects steel water tanks. Even though the metal fabrication industry has many dangerous operations, Lyle has been able to maintain the safety protocols to keep his employees free from injuries. Lyle manages more than 45 employees, and he makes a conscious effort to know each employee on a personal level. Employees know they can approach Lyle at any time to communicate with him any problems they may have.
Over the past few years, there have been many evolutions in the safety processes. The safety department anticipated some pushback, but that was not the case. Lyle’s outlook; the change would keep his employees safer – this was all the motivation he needed to make the changes go through without an issue.
View the recipients 2018 Governor's Workplace Safety Awards by clicking here!