Award presentations were made at a special virtual awards ceremony on Tuesday, June 30, 2009.

WINNER OF SAFETYXCHANGE CONTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR: Lauryn Franzoni

Criteria: The heartbeat of SafetyXChange is made up of the articles and insights contributed by its members. This Saxcie™ award recognizes these contributions. The SafetyXChange Contributor of the Year award goes to an outstanding member who has distinguished him/herself through service to the SXC community, sharing timely and meaningful articles, actively participating in the forum or some other form of sharing that has contributed to the success of our community as a whole. And SafetyXChange Members get to select the winner.

The Winner: Lauryn Franzoni

Profile: Lauryn Franzoni is the Vice President and Executive Editor of ExecuNet's Center for Executive Careers (www.execunet.com), the leading Internet-based resource for executive career market trend and management information.

Lauryn has been writing her weekly career column for SafetyXChange since the community began in April 2005, contributing nearly 200 articles with advice and information focused on the intersection of safety, careers and management.

WINNER OF SAFETY HERO OF THE YEAR: Robert Duckworth

Criteria: The Safety Hero of the Year is awarded to an individual who demonstrates an extraordinary personal commitment to safety both inside and outside the workplace or who personifies the attributes in a single act of workplace heroism.

The Winner: Robert Duckworth

Profile: Robert Duckworth, Senior Manager of HSE at Fluor Corporation was awarded Safety Hero of the Year for his heroic efforts in rescuing four teenagers from a vehicle that had slid into a 60-foot deep snow-covered embankment. Not only did Duckworth choose to stop that day, but he remained to assist in the extrication and stabilization of the injured, all of whom have made full recoveries.

“We are very excited to be honored by SafetyXChange,” says Duckworth. “I am receiving accolades from around the world.”

WINNER OF SAFETY PROGRAM OF THE YEAR: Russell Construction

Criteria: The Safety Program of the Year Saxcie™ is awarded to an organization's health and safety program for excellence in one or more of the following areas: on- and off-the-job safety training, culture and awareness building, use of technology, employee involvement, communication, supervisory leadership, performance measurement, auditing, accident investigation, committee involvement and leadership, rehabilitation and return to work.

The Winner: Russell Construction

Profile: Russell Construction was awarded Safety Program of the Year for excellence in safety program development, demonstrated by efforts starting in 2006 to establish a “zero-injury safety culture” throughout the organization. The results have been outstanding, with the company surpassing 1,000,000 consecutive man-hours without a lost-time injury.

According to Michael Doucette , Safety Director at Russell Construction, “this recognition belongs to everyone here at Russell. It is a testament to the years of hard work and dedication, especially to those working at our jobsites helping keep not only our team safe but subcontractor employees, our clients and the public safe everyday!”

WINNER OF SAFETY TRAINER OF THE YEAR: Skipper Kendrick

Criteria: This category recognizes individual success and leadership in the field of safety training. When selecting the winner, judges were looking for one or more of the following qualities: Innovation, originality, outstanding communication skills, capacity to make maximum use of minimum resources, capacity to involve employees, humor, empathy, the ability to simplify technically challenging material, and any other quality that makes a person a great trainer.

The Winner: Skipper Kendrick

Profile: James “Skipper” Kendrick, Director of EHS Training at Textron Inc., was named Safety Trainer of the Year for continuing excellence in the field of safety training. Skipper has pioneered the use of both the web and video at Textron to broadly deliver effective safety messages—and results. One video, titled “Safety Starts with Me”, included Textron’s CEO, was translated into 9 languages and was viewed by almost all Textron employees, with over 26,000 worldwide downloads.

WINNER OF THE HENSHAW AWARD FOR CORPORATE LEADERSHIP IN SAFETY: Ward Manufacturing Inc.

Criteria: The John Henshaw Saxcie™ is awarded to an organization that demonstrates superior leadership in workplace health and safety by integrating health and safety into its essential business mission, using safety to define and measure business success and exhibiting vision, commitment, transparency and employee engagement to achieve sustainable health and safety performance.

The Winner: Ward Manufacturing Inc.

Profile: For corporate leadership and commitment to safety as a business imperative, Ward Manufacturing received the highest recognition: The Henshaw Award for Corporate Leadership in Safety. “Based upon strong corporate leadership, the company has demonstrated they recognize the value of their workers and the preservation of their health and safety,” said John Henshaw during the awards presentation. “With the implementation of effective management systems, they have achieved significant improvement in injury and illness rates – well below industry averages.”