Hi Safety Stuff Subscriber,

Thanks for spending another digital moment with me.

It was a wonderful night for me last Thursday when I spoke at the South Jersey Human Resource Association. Thank you, Michele. It was great seeing you again.

This week I'm working on my new series of webinars and I'm starting my blog back up. I have loads of cool ideas. Come join me. (I'll send out an announcement after my first post.)

Way to go Melanie M. Lombard from ExxonMobil! You are this week's safety and health meeting/promotion idea winner!

Safety & health meeting/promotion idea winners get 25 Safety & Health Puzzles on CD which they can copy and give out to their employees. They also get a copy of Spice It Up! 52 Easy Ways to Turn Your Safety Meetings From Bland to Grand! If you'd like to purchase these helpful products just go to: www.makesafetyfun.com or click on the picture of the product on the left.

If I publish your idea on how to use a prop to make a point, or some way to get your audience involved in a safety & health meeting, or an innovative way to promote safety & health on and off the job you'll win the puzzles and booklet.

Send your ideas to me at richard@richardhawkinc.com or click on the link at the bottom of this message.

Let's move on to Melanie's winning idea:

One of the things my Safe Work Practice Team (SWPT) decided to do this year was hold a Safety Olympics competition.

Each month we have a different competition to focus on a part of our total safety program (safety slogan contest, best safety suggestion contest, best job hazard analysis, best safety observation, etc.) We ordered gold, silver and bronze medals and awarded them each month at our safety meeting to the winners. At the end of the year we are going to have a "Best All-Around" for the those who competed and won the most medals.

We keep a medal count going and communicate it with the department. We even recognize everyone who participates by awarding them a small token (even if they don't win any competitions).

This has helped us to begin getting more participation in the safety process/programs and better data for the SWPT to analyze to help us plan for next year's safety improvement.

In October 2006, Buddy the German Shepherd ran away from his home in Beliflower, California, and was hit by a car. Hurt but able to limp, the six-year-old dog stumbled into the emergency room at a nearby hospital. Hospital staffers tried to remove the dog, but Buddy wouldn't budge. He held his ground until a doctor came out to inspect him and found that one of Buddy's hind legs was broken.

The dog had been implanted with a microchip, so his owner, Fabian Ortega, was called and showed up at the hospital with a veterinarian. Only then would Buddy allow himself to be moved, so the vet could set his broken leg.

I just got this message yesterday. Sure made me feel good.

Hello Richard,

Thanks so much for hosting the Montana State Fund webinar. You did a fantastic job. I have listened to a lot of presenters and you by far take the cake with keeping me and everyone in the room engaged. I especially liked the the rambling boss song. AWESOME!!! And so true. I walked away talking about your webinar to my friends and co-workers.

Thanks again for making safety fun. I really enjoyed looking at your website.

Take care,

Tracey Pitsenberger
Business Development
PrintingForLess.com

If you'd like the same kind of results at your next convention or employee day (or are looking for ways to improve your safety & health culture) contact Michele Lucia (972-899-3411 michele@richardhawkinc.com) or click on the link at the end of this email message.

If you'd like to see a video of yours truly go to my safety website www.makesafetyfun.com

A fellow told me he was going to hang-gliding school. He said, "I've been going for three months." I asked, "How many successful jumps do you need to make before you graduate?" He said, "All of them."

--Red Skelton

While doing some research, I was surprised at some of the causes behind recreational boating deaths (except for partying). Here's what I found out:

Seventy million Americans enjoy recreational boating each year. About seven hundred recreational boaters die each year while afloat, half of them are not wearing a life jacket. A quarter of them, life jacket or not, die in fatal accidents relating to serious partying.

More than half of recreational boating deaths happen while on lakes, ponds, reservoirs, and dams, when visibility is good, with a light wind blowing at 0-6 mph, and a water temperature of 70-79 degrees F, on waters with waves less than 6 inches.

On sailboats, head injury leads the list, while canoe deaths list hypothermia as the primary cause. On houseboats, carbon monoxide poisoning is the usual culprit; generators used to supply power for air-conditioning and lighting have exhaust vents beneath swim platforms on the back of the boat, which traps carbon monoxide and kills swimmers and boaters chilling out on board. And on personal watercraft, like jet skis, head trauma, usually form crashing into something, most often causes death.

Sources: Coast Guard News, Final Exits by Mark Largo, Wilkepidia