SGE of the Year, Scholarship Winners Announced
Three students received VPPPA scholarships this year, and Deb Clingan of Miller Coors was chosen as Special Government Employee of the Year during VPPPA’s annual conference.
NASHVILLE – Recognition and awards presented during the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants' Association, Inc.'s 29th Annual Conference included eight Mentors of the Year, Special Government Employee of the Year, and three scholarships. The SGE of the Year honoree is Deb Clingan of Miller Coors in VPPPA Region VIII; an SGE was nominated from each of the 10 regions.
SGE is a program that is critical to OSHA's VPP program during this era of tight federal budgets. SGEs are trained by OSHA and then assist in site evaluations, with their employers covering all of the SGEs' costs while they participate. With 1,300 SGEs currently participating in the program, it represents significant savings for OSHA and a substantial investment by VPP member companies. A study found an SGE's weekly cost to participate is about $6,000, so member companies have invested more than $4.2 million to support the program, VPPPA Board Chairman Mike Maddox said during the conference.
The association's 2013 scholarship recipients are:
- Shelby Cothran, a high school senior planning to study nursing this fall, is the winner of the 2013 June Brothers Scholarship. Her father works for Westar Energy in Colwich, Kansas.
- Desiree Bruce, attending college and pursuing an environmental science degree, received the 2013 Sully Sullivan Scholarship. Bruce works at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash.
- Mason Walker, who attends Bismarck State College and is enrolled in a welding program, received the 2013 Steven Brown Scholarship. His mother works for Tesoro Refining in Mandan, N.D.
2013 VPPPA Safety & Health Achievement Program winners are Calandra S. Barrows of GE Healthcare (Florence, S.C.); Keith G. Hender of the Camden County Energy Recovery Corporation (Camden, N.J.); Fred Appenzellar, Jr. of GE Intelligent Platforms (Huntsville, Ala.); and Russell J. Overton of Savannah River Remediation, LLC (Aiken, S.C.).
The Illinois Refining Division of Marathon Petroleum Company LP received the 2013 Safety & Health Outreach Award, the Hanford Site VPP Champions Committee received the VPP Outreach Award, and Ch2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company received the VPP Innovation Award.
Mentors of the Year honorees are George C. Caras and Paul Ward of Raytheon Company; Joe Whalen of International Paper; Mark Ball of ABB Inc.; Michael Perry of Daikin America Inc.; Ron Kunkle of Raytheon MCVC; Jon Alexander of Monsanto; and Cathy West of GE Analytical Instruments.