2022 Safety Award Winners
Our Safety & Health Awards program is designed to promote incident prevention by honoring companies with outstanding safety programs, employees with superior safety records, and North Dakota citizens who have gone above and beyond to improve the safety and health environments in their communities.
“As a statewide non-profit, we are dedicated to preventing injuries and saving lives. Each of these award winners plays a significant role in helping to develop a stronger safety culture in our state. We’re proud to have them as partners on this journey,” says our executive director, Chuck Clairmont.
This year, we handed out 86 awards to companies and individuals representing multiple industries including transportation, manufacturing, construction, and oil and gas.
Advanced Safety Certificate
These individuals strived to maximize their impact as a safety leader by completing the Advanced Safety Certificate.
- Michael Adams, NDSC
Outstanding Safety Instructor
These individuals taught a significant number of courses or students for the North Dakota Safety Council and received high marks for their training style, showing true dedication to improving safety in North Dakota.
- Tim Bleth – City of Bismarck HR
- Benjamin Dahl – CP Police Service
- Amy Fite, American Crystal Sugar
- Todd Fjeldahl, Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch
- Dan Kennedy, American Crystal Sugar
- Michael McCloud, Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch
- Will Namyniuk – Miller Insulation
- Lisa Page Hill – Wahpeton Police Department
- Taylor Peters – Dickinson Police Department
- Robin Stephens – North Dakota Department of Transportation
- Kayla Thompson, American Crystal Sugar
- Mark Verke – North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund
- Tammy Wagner – Federal Railroad Administration
- Sherlenne Watne, American Crystal Sugar
- North Dakota Highway Patrol
- WBI Energy
- West Fargo Police Department
Community Advancement Award
This award is given to MEMBER companies who have shown a commitment to safety for their employees, families, and communities in which they operate by providing exemplary OFF-THE-JOB safety and health programs.
- Red Trail Energy, LLC
Safe Driver Award – Division 1 & 2
Recognizes drivers with a minimum of 3 years of experience driving a company vehicle and a minimum of 100,000 miles incident free (Division 1) or 500,000 miles incident free (Division 2).
- Jason Degenstien, Butler Machinery Company (Division 1)
- Troy Klein, Butler Machinery Company (Division 1)
- Billy Pahl, Butler Machinery Company (Division 1)
- Bryce Winjum, Butler Machinery Company (Division 1)
- Wade Jansen, Butler Machinery Company (Division 2)
- Randy Schneider, Butler Machinery Company (Division 2)
Star Driver Award – Division 1 & 2
Recognizes drivers with a minimum of 10 years of experience driving a company vehicle and a minimum of 250,000 miles incident free (Division 1) or 1,000,000 miles incident free (Division 2).
- Lyle Leber, Butler Machinery Company (Division 1)
Workplace Safety Merit Award
This award is given to MEMBER organizations showing an Experience Modification Rate (EMR) of 1.0 or below, for the year 2022.
- Barr Engineering Co. – Bismarck
- Bartlett & West
- Bergstrom Electric, Inc.
- Butler Machinery Company
- Comstock Construction
- Home On The Range
- J&M Printing, Inc.
- KLJ Engineering LLC
- LM Wind Power – Grand Forks
- Miller Insulation
- Nooter Construction Company
- Northern Improvement Company
- Rachel Contracting, LLC
- Red Trail Energy LLC
- Saulsbury Industries
- Savage Services – Bowbells
- Savage Services – Trenton EMI & Threading
- Savage Services – Trenton Pipeyard
- Savage Services – Trenton Railport
- SOS, Inc.
- Trihydro Corporation
- Vector Construction, Inc.
- Western Steel Builders, Inc.
- Winn Construction, Inc.
Safety Improvement Award
This award is given to MEMBER companies who have improved in the area of safety and have shown a 50% decrease in their OSHA incidence rate from the previous year.
- Bartlett & West
- Digi-Key Electronics
- Home On The Range
- Vector Construction, Inc.
- Winn Construction, Inc.
Emerging Safety Champion Award
This award is given to safety professionals who have been on the job less than 5 years, but have demonstrated a noticeable commitment to the safety culture of their organization.
- Jordan Hjelle – Digi-Key Electronics
- Jannine Juve – American Crystal Sugar
- Brenda Valles – Dakota Fence
Workplace Safety Milestone Award
This award is given to MEMBER organizations showing an Experience Modification Rate (EMR) of 1.0 or below for 5 consecutive years.
- Bismarck Parks and Recreation District
- Butler Machinery Company
- Home On The Range
- KLJ Engineering LLC
- LM Wind Power – Grand Forks
- Miller Insulation
- Nooter Construction Company
- Northern Coatings, Inc.
- Northern Improvement Company
- Saulsbury Industries
- Savage Services – Bowbells
- Savage Services – Trenton EMI & Threading
- Savage Services – Trenton Pipeyard
- Savage Services – Trenton Railport
- The Jamar Company d/b/a Industrial Contractors, Inc.
- Trihydro Corporation
- Vector Construction, Inc.
- Water Resources Group
- Western Steel Builders, Inc.
- Winn Construction, Inc.
Lifesaver Award
These individuals went above and beyond the call of duty to assist and/or rescue another individual.
- Will Carr
- Ariel Gibson
- Dusty Grosulak
- Cyrus Mueller
- Leighton Sys
- Lindsey Dockter
- Kyrah Duttenhefer
- Lindsey Renken
- Megan VanSon
Ariel Gibson
Ariel works for CHI Friendship in Fargo. She works to support adults with intellectual disabilities. In May of 2022, Ariel was attending a bowling party with several people with disabilities and other staff members. Ariel was informed of a gentleman nearby who had begun actively choking. Ariel immediately responded by approaching and performing abdominal thrusts as part of her CRP/First Aid training. After multiple thrusts, she was able to dislodge the food and the man was able to breathe again.
Leighton Sys and Cyrus Mueller
In February of 2022, Leighton Sys and Cyrus Mueller were making the rounds at the East Grand Forks factory of American Crystal Sugar around 10:30 pm. The two men found another person wandering in the area with no hat or gloves. This person was disoriented and hypothermic, and he was in distress, bent over and vomiting. The man was showing signs of frostbite on his fingers and could barely speak. Recognizing the urgent nature of the situation, Leighton and Cyrus helped the person into their pickup and called their supervisor who then called 911. They discovered the man had been outside in negative 43-degree weather for at least 4 hours. They were able to get the man to an ambulance so he could get to a hospital. After getting a phone number for the man’s sister, they were able to inform her of what happened.
Dusty Grosulak
In January of 2022, Brent Seaks was playing old-pro basketball at the West River Community Center in Dickinson. Very early in the game Seaks felt dizzy and took a seat on the bench near a teammate. Luckily, teammates noticed Seaks begin to slump over and called for help while moving him safely to the ground. Within a few seconds, a seizure took hold and Seaks went into full cardiac arrest. Dickinson Fire Department Captain Dusty Grosulak had just finished a game of volleyball when he was asked to help. Another firefighter and a doctor had already started CPR; however, no pulse was located. Grosulak began to administer breaths. An AED was used along with four rounds of CPR…nearly five minutes ticked by, and another AED shock was used in a last-ditch effort to resuscitate him. During the sixth cycle, Seaks came back. Bismarck doctors called it a medical miracle that Seaks survived. Doctors determined from an angiogram that Seaks had actually died in the incident but was resuscitated using lifesaving efforts from those rendering immediate aid.
Lindsey Renken, Lindsey Dockter, Megan VanSon and Kyrah Duttenhefer
In January of 2022, Lindsey, Lindsey, Megan, and Kyrah were all traveling back to Bismarck-Mandan westbound on I-94. Just before Tower City, the girls who were traveling in multiple vehicles came upon a serious accident. The four women were able to render immediate First Aid on the scene, assisting the family involved. Kyrah rushed into action at the scene without hesitation and was a true leader in directing people as to where and how they could help. She kept calm in a tough situation. It took about 40 minutes for Fargo ambulances to arrive, however, a doctor who had been passing the accident stopped to help, as well as Bismarck Metro Ambulance. It was a group effort to respond. A loving mother and wife, Kelli, was lost that day. Her husband Tim, and their daughters are all here with us today.
Will Carr
Will Carr was traveling off duty and was a witness to a vehicle slamming into a concrete median on I-35 in Minnesota. The vehicle ended up getting hung up on the barrier, and the tires remained spinning as if the gas was still pressed. Will pulled over and quickly assessed the driver was having a seizure. Will, along with another bystander, was able to smash a window and eventually shut the vehicle off. Will worked to communicate with the driver of the vehicle after he came out of the seizure as they waited for medical personnel to arrive while also remaining on the phone with 911.
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