Lineworkers, supervisors and warehouse personnel from electric co-ops across Illinois gathered in Springfield to attend the annual Safety and Energy Conference Jan. 25-26, hosted by the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC).
The conference focused on safety and leadership in the energy industry. Attendees learned new solutions to industry challenges, strategies to strengthen safety culture, and received relevant training to keep them informed.
During the conference, safety leadership awards were presented to recognize individual and cooperative-wide commitment to safe work culture. The AIEC Individual Leadership Award recognizes safety awareness and rewards individuals who demonstrate safety leadership, promote safety culture and contribute to the safety of a project. Recipients must demonstrate safety leadership above and beyond the normal safety performance expectations.
The 2022 Individual Safety Leadership Awards were presented to Duane Jones, line foreman at Adams Electric Cooperative; Mike Conway, central area serviceman at Corn Belt Energy Corporation; and Stefanie Frizzo, operations assistant at M.J.M. Electric Cooperative. Individuals were nominated by their peers. Each nomination provided specific details explaining why the person deserved the award.
The AIEC Cooperative Safety Leadership Award recognizes safety awareness and rewards cooperatives that demonstrate safety leadership, promote safety culture, and go above and beyond normal safety expectations. Awards were given for the 2021 and 2022 Best Lost Time and Best Incident Rates.
The following electric cooperatives earned one or more AIEC Cooperative Safety Leadership Awards: Clinton County Electric Cooperative, Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative, Egyptian Electric Cooperative Association, Illinois Electric Cooperative, Jo-Carroll Energy, Prairie Power Inc., Shelby Electric Cooperative, Tri-County Electric Cooperative and Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative.
