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2008 National SGE of the Year Award |
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Former-Assistant Secretary Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., presenting SGE award to Larry Shaffer
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The Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) National Special Government Employee
(SGE) Award recognizes an SGE who epitomizes and exhibits exceptional support,
time, effort, and action in VPP, setting him/her apart from other SGEs. The
person selected is actively involved in volunteer activities that benefit the
VPP and its stakeholders, and demonstrates outstanding commitment to the
partnership ideals of the VPP. The first annual SGE of the Year was awarded by
Assistant Secretary Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. at the 2005 National Conference of the
Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA). The award will
be given on an annual basis.
Winner: Larry Shaffer, International Paper
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Larry Shaffer is the VPP Coordinator for International Paper, Franklin,
Virginia. Larry has been an active Special Government Employee (SGE) since 2002,
assisting in more 10 VPP onsite evaluations.
Larry has assisted National and Regional OSHA staff with the SGE workshop
session at the National VPPPA Conference in August 2007; he assisted in the SGE
training class in Virginia Beach May 2007 and two application workshops for the
Region during 2007. Also, Larry spoke on the benefits of VPP to a class of OSHA
compliance officers in Washington, DC and also presented at a Virginia OSH
conference.
Larry received the "2008 Mentor of the Year" for Virginia for his successful
efforts in mentoring Coors Shenandoah Brewery and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals who
recently reentered the Virginia VPP. Additionally, Larry mentored the Dept. of
Defense Yorktown Weapons Depot, Norfolk Naval Base unions. He was very
instrumental in attaining the support of the Regional Metal Trades Council and
local unions at the Norfolk Naval Base. Furthermore, Larry set up a VPP
information booth and answered employee’s questions at Wyeth’s Safety Day in May
2007 (there are over 1,100 employees at the site).
Recently, Larry traveled with OSHA to Germany to serve as the first SGE to
participate on VPP team evaluations in Europe. The Region III VPP team was
invited by the Dept. of Defense to visit Wiesbaden and Stuttgart. These
evaluations took place at National Security Agency (NSA) Department of Defense
worksites. Larry’s VPP experience knowledge of VPP concepts and requirements was
a key factor in the success of the OSHA team evaluations. Implemented VPP safety
and health management systems are ensuring American employees are protected on
the job while they support and safeguard our security interests, here and
throughout the world. The commitment of Larry and his company, International
Paper in supporting VPP at NSA worksites has interested and impressed the senior
leadership of the Defense Department. The National Security Agency Wiesbaden and
Stuttgart facilities were strongly impressed by Larry’s professionalism,
knowledge and commitment to VPP. The Department’s recognition and the value of
VPP is now strengthen and reinforced.
Larry has served on the Region III VPPPA Board of Directors for over 4 years --
two years as Treasurer and now as Vice-Chairperson. His commitment and
dependability are greatly counted on by the VPPPA Board and OSHA. He is
frequently sought out as spokesman and an Ambassador for the VPP Program.
| FINALISTS: |
Jack Popp, Hasbro
Nominated by Region I
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Diane Palmer, General Electric
Nominated by Region II
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Rick Thacker, Trinity Rail
Nominated by Region IV
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Jack Burton, General Electric
Nominated by Region V
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Don Schwertner, Valero
Nominated by Region VI
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Ernie Nold, Weyerhaeuser
Nominated by Region VII
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Robert Finnie, MillerCoors
Nominated by Region VIII
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Robert Hafner, Rohm & Haas
Nominated by Region IX
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2007 National SGE of the Year Award |
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| Former-Assistant Secretary Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., presenting SGE award to Michael Pendergrass |
The Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) National Special Government Employee
(SGE) Award recognizes an SGE who epitomizes and exhibits exceptional support,
time, effort, and action in VPP, setting him/her apart from other SGEs. The
person selected is actively involved in volunteer activities that benefit the
VPP and its stakeholders, and demonstrates outstanding commitment to the
partnership ideals of the VPP. The first annual SGE of the Year was awarded by
Assistant Secretary Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. at the 2005 National Conference of the
Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA). The award will
be given on an annual basis.
Winner: Michael Pendergrass, Superior Industries
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Michael Pendergrass is the Corporate Safety Director for Superior
Industries located in the Pittsburg, Kansas. Mike has been an active Special Government Employee
(SGE) since 2000, assisting in more 10 VPP onsite evaluations. In 2006 alone, Mike participated in
four audits as an SGE.
Mike has a great deal of technical expertise. He possesses excellent hazard recognition skills
especially in the areas of machine guarding and ergonomics. As a participant on VPP audits, Mike
brings an excellent private sector perspective to the audit. He excels in assisting employers with
improving employee involvement programs and in improving their safety and health training. Mike
willingly offers to share Superior’s safety and health programs with the site being audited if it
will assist the site in bolstering their own programs.
As the Corporate Safety Director, Mike mandates that each of his site safety managers become an SGE
and conduct at least two SGE audits with OSHA each year. Seven of Mike’s staff members are active
SGEs. Together, they have assisted on 15 VPP onsite evaluations in 2006. Under Mike’s direction,
four of Superior’s six domestic locations have achieved STAR status. Their location in Mexico is
participating in Mexico’s equivalent of VPP.
Mike was recently selected by Assistant Secretary Foulke to be an SGE for the Pearl Harbor Naval
Shipyard VPP onsite in Hawaii. Mike assisted on this audit and was a valuable addition to the onsite
team. Mike is actively involved in the DOL VPP as a mentor for Region VII OASAM. Mike is also
serving as a mentor for the Fort Riley Army Base (Ft. Riley, Kansas) to assist them in their VPP
endeavor under the Army/OSHA Partnership.
Mike was an instructor for a VPP Application Workshop during the past year and also serves as a
member of the Communication Committee and the Mentoring Committee of the Region VII VPPPA. He also
conducted a workshop on VPP at a local university and at a state safety and health conference.
| FINALISTS: |
Paul Kniskern, Curtis Lumber -
Nominated by Region II |
Larry Shaffer, International Paper -
Nominated by Region III |
Wayne Punch, Milliken & Company -
Nominated by Region IV
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George Hall, AmerGen Energy, LLC -
Nominated by Region V |
Paul Savage, United Space Alliance -
Nominated by Region VI |
Jimmy Jacquez, Morton Salt -
Nominated by Region VIII
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Robert Hafner, Rohm & Haas -
Nominated by Region IX |
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2006 National SGE of the Year Award |
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Former-Assistant Secretary Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
presenting SGE award to Brian Bennett
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The Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) National Special Government Employee
(SGE) Award recognizes an SGE who epitomizes and exhibits exceptional support,
time, effort, and action in VPP, setting him/her apart from other SGEs. The
person selected is actively involved in volunteer activities that benefit the
VPP and its stakeholders, and demonstrates outstanding commitment to the
partnership ideals of the VPP. The first annual SGE of the Year was awarded by
Assistant Secretary Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. at the 2006 National Conference of the
Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA). The award will
be given on an annual basis.
Winner: Brian Bennett, Basell USA, Inc.
Brian Bennett is the corporate safety and health manager for Basell USA, Inc., Edison, New Jersey. Brian
is a true VPP Champion who has been instrumental in many sites successfully achieving VPP status.
Brian has been an active Special Government Employee in Region 2 since 1998, assisting in more than
20 on-site evaluations. He has participated on six (6) on-site evaluations in 2005 alone auditing
various worksites including electric power generation, silicone manufacturing and an OSHA Area
Office. Brian is noted for his extensive knowledge and technical expertise in safety and health
arena and is often called to serve in a variety of capacities, such as, Industrial Hygienist, Safety
Specialist, Process Safety Management Specialist or emergency responder.
Brian has co-instructed the SGE 3-day training course along with several other OSHA courses and has
contributed developed and formed two OSHA Alliances (Hispanic Outreach and Chemistry Council of New
Jersey). Brian currently serves as the Chairman for the Region 2 Chapter of the Voluntary Protection
Program Participants’ Association (VPPPA).
| FINALISTS: |
Joel Plante, Pratt & Whitney - Nominated by Region I |
Jeff Wetzel, Rohm & Haas Powder Coatings - Nominated by Region III |
Durwood "Sonny" Weeks, Arkema, Inc. - Nominated by Region IV
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Ron Mauermann, Georgia Pacific - Nominated by Region V |
Charles Gibson, United Space Alliance - Nominated by Region VI |
Mike Pendergrass, Superior Industries - Nominated by Region VII
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Kelli Heflin, Scott's Liquid Gold - Nominated by Region VIII |
Robert Hafner, Rohm & Haas - Nominated by Region IX |
Bonnie Anderson, CH2M-WG Idaho, LLC - Nominated by Region X |
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2005 National SGE of the Year Award |
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The Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) National Special Government Employee
(SGE) Award recognizes an SGE who epitomizes and exhibits exceptional support,
time, effort, and action in VPP, setting him/her apart from other SGEs. The
person selected is actively involved in volunteer activities that benefit the
VPP and its stakeholders, and demonstrates outstanding commitment to the
partnership ideals of the VPP. The first annual SGE of the Year was awarded by
Deputy Assistant Secretary Jonathan Snare at the 2005 National Conference of the
Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA). The award will
be given on an annual basis.
The following profiles are based on information provided by OSHA’s Regional
Offices in their award nominations.
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| Former-Deputy Assistant Secretary, Jonathan Snare presenting SGE
Award to Kerry D. Fischman |
WINNER:
Kerry D. Fischman |
Nominated by Region V
Kerry Fischman is the corporate VPP Manager of Georgia-Pacific-North. Within the
company, he is a full-time VPP Champion who has been instrumental in at least
ten Georgia-Pacific sites successfully achieving VPP status.
Kerry has been an active Special Government Employee in Region V since 2000,
assisting in more than five on-site evaluations. He is noted for his extensive
VPP knowledge and technical expertise. He is a regular participant of National
and Regional VPPPA conferences and is active on the VPPPA National Board as a
member of the VPPPA’s Mentoring, Legislature, and Regulatory Committees.
Kerry has volunteered his services to OSHA’s Training Institute (OTI) in
Arlington Heights, IL, providing technical and management assistance associated
with preparing for VPP application and approval.
Former VPPPA Chairperson, and Georgia-Pacific Vice President Corporate Safety
June S. Brothers spoke about him as follows:
"Kerry Fischman has been invaluable in helping sites within Georgia-Pacific
Corporation to strengthen their safety and health management systems to
qualify for VPP. His work contributed greatly to Georgia-Pacific Corporation
becoming the first company to be approved by OSHA as a participant in the
VPP Corporate Pilot Program. But his devotion to improving worker safety and
health through partnership programs does not stop with Georgia-Pacific.
Through his outreach, mentoring and SGE activities, he helps VPP grow in
other companies and other industries."
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| FINALISTS: |
Greg Arbise |
Nominated by Region IV
Greg Arbise is the Safety and Environmental Coordinator for the Component
Maintenance division of Delta Air Lines. Greg has been an active SGE since 2003.
According to Susan Sikes, Region IV VPP Manager, he has been a great asset to
VPP in the past year, participating on four on-site evaluations and spending a
total of 16 days of his time helping VPP as a Special Government Employee.
In addition, Greg made several VPP presentations to prospective VPP applicants
and made a presentation at the last Georgia Safety, Health and Environmental
Conference. His session was attended by over 75 people. He also served as a
mentor to a prospective applicant
Greg’s efforts in the past year have greatly enhanced Region IV’s VPP and have
been of tremendous assistance to other VPP member employers.
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Don Jones |
Nominated by Region VI
Don Jones, an Engineer and Safety & Health Professional, is a Regulatory
Expertise Leader for Dow Chemical Company. Don was one of the first individuals
to qualify as an SGE. Over the years, he has participated in numerous VPP
on-site evaluations, and continues to participate in at least a couple of
evaluations each year.
As a mentor, he recruited into the VPP program a number of sites both inside and
outside of Dow Chemical Company. Several of the Dow Chemical Company sites that
he mentored qualified for VPP status. Dow Chemical Company has seen 33% fewer
OSHA recordables at the corporation’s VPP sites, as compared to its non-VPP
sites.
Don also assisted the government of Ireland’s Health and Safety Authority to
establish their VPP program, leading a team that assessed a chemical plant in
Cork, Ireland.
Don served as a member of the Region VI VPPPA Board as both Treasurer and
Chairman and currently serves as the Region VI VPPPA Government Affairs
Committee Chair. From 2000-2002, he was a member of the National VPPPA Board
and still is actively involved, serving as a member of the Bylaws and
Legislative/Regulatory Committees.
Don also served as a member of the team that helped OSHA develop the VPP
Corporate Pilot, and he helped convince Dow Chemical to volunteer and make a
commitment to participate in the pilot.
Don also contributed his skills as an instructor and presenter for various
workshops and sessions nationwide.
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Paul Kniskern |
Nominated by Region II
Paul Kniskern is the Loss Control Director at Curtis Lumber.
In 2004, he participated on two VPP on-site evaluations as a Special Government
Employee.
In addition to his SGE duties, he served on the OSHA Challenge development
committee. He currently serves as an administrator in the OSHA Challenge Pilot
Program. He oversees seven coordinators and is mentoring 26 companies
participating in OSHA Challenge across the mid-Atlantic Region.
Paul currently serves on the VPPPA Region II Board of Directors as a Director at
Large. He also serves as the Region’s Upstate Mentoring Coordinator and National
Mentoring Board Representative.
Paul is an active trainer and instructor. He has developed materials for and
administered Region II’s Application Workshop. He also has been responsible for
various Region II Conference classes including: VPPPA/OSHA Outreach, Tools &
Programs, and Fleet Safety Programs. He recently presented a course to 38
participants at the OSHA Training Institute.
He is the Executive Board Member of two Regional VPP Safety Groups: Capital
Region Safety and Health Council and Adirondack Safety and Health Council.
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Mike Pendergrass |
Nominated by Region VII
Mike Pendergrass is the Corporate Safety Director for Superior Industries, Inc.
Since 2000, he has participated in eight audits as an SGE.
In his current position, he mandates that each of his site safety managers
become an SGE and conduct at least two SGE audits with OSHA each year. He
made this part of their annual performance appraisal and part of their job
descriptions. For the year 2004, Superior Industries, Inc. contributed 11 SGE’s for VPP audits and also mentored 12 sites.
Under his direction, five of Superior Industries’ seven facilities have achieved
STAR status, including three during 2004.
He participated in the SGE Workgroup in Washington, D.C. He is actively involved
in the Department of Labor’s efforts to qualify for VPP, serving as a mentor for
Region VII OASAM. He also serves as a mentor for the Fort Riley Army Base in
Kansas, assisting them in their VPP endeavor under the Army/OSHA Partnership.
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Joel Plante |
Nominated by Region I
Joel Plante is Safety Engineer for Pratt & Whitney, North Berwick, Maine, and is
the Chair of Region I VPPPA. He has been an SGE since 2003, joining the program
not long after his facility became one of the Region’s first Star sites.
According to Region I, Joel embodies the very principles of VPP and has an
unsurpassed level of commitment to the program. His stewardship in the VPPPA has
resulted in the recruitment and retention of more than 25 sites in Region I. His
participation in the SGE program began in 2000.
In 2004, he served as an SGE on two initial VPP on-site evaluations, one of
which was the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the largest VPP on-site evaluation of
2004. He also successfully mentored more than 20 sites in Region I during 2004.
He assisted OSHA Region I and the Vermont Dept. of Labor and Industry in the
development and administration of the 2004 Vermont VPPPA Application Workshop.
This effort resulted in the approval of our first two VPP sites in the State of
Vermont.
His experiences in training are also extensive. First, he co-taught two VPP 101
courses; both resulted in the instruction of more than 24 potential VPP sites.
Also, he co-instructed and organized the 2004 Region I SGE course. He also
co-instructed OSHA Region I’s Machine Guarding Course at his facility.
As a licensed electrician, he was an invaluable regional resource during OSHA’s
adoption of NFPA standard 70 E. Also, as a volunteer firefighter and previous
instructor at the NH fire academy, he developed an expertise in hazardous
materials handling and management that is infused into the Region I VPP.
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Paul Snyder |
Nominated by Region III
Paul Snyder is the Director of Safety and Industrial Hygiene Systems, Global
Environmental, Health and Safety for the Rohm & Haas Corporation.
He has always supported a systems approach to safety and first submitted a VPP
application to OSHA’s Regional Office for the Rohm & Haas Philadelphia Plant in
1988. Under his leadership, the site became the first VPP site in Region III,
qualifying for Star status in 1992. He has mentored Rohm & Haas sites throughout
the country, and the company now has 12 sites benefiting from VPP Star
recognition.
Paul is a charter member of the VPPPA, where he helped to start the Region III
VPPPA Chapter in 1997 and has served as its Secretary, Treasurer, and currently
as a Director. He has mentored many other companies in Pennsylvania and
Delaware, encouraging them to become VPP participants. He has participated in
more than a dozen VPP Application training classes, conducted VPP outreach
activities with OSHA, and frequently hosted VPPPA Board meetings at the
corporate site in Bristol, PA. Additionally, he has hosted at least four SGE
training classes in Pennsylvania and in Texas, where he also participated as a
class instructor.
He was sworn in as an OSHA SGE in 2003 and participated on 2 VPP evaluations in
2004 in Region III. As a corporate safety director, he has encouraged his sites
to support VPP SGE participation. Under his direction, Rohm & Haas in Region III
has contributed a number of employees to the SGE Program. |
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