NSC Green Cross Dinner

Summit team members Valerie Overheul – President & CEO, Bryan Hornik – General Manager, and myself, Sara Wesche- Marketing Director, attended the National Safety Council’s Green Cross for Safety Awards dinner in Chicago May 13th. This year’s recipient of the Green Cross medal was Charles “Chip” Pardee, President and Chief Nuclear Officer for Exelon Nuclear.

The black tie event began with a reception at the Navy Pier Terrace Room, which gave attendees the chance to mingle with other safety professionals. A band of bagpipes led the NSC Board of Directors and the representatives from Exelon, including Mr. Pardee, into the Grand Ballroom for the main event.

Janet Froetscher, President & CEO of the National Safety Council, opened the evening with a talk about the mission of the Council and the importance of work place safety. The focus of the speech was distracted driving, one of the Council’s current initiatives. She details the stories of two young boys who were killed in separate accidents due to drivers who were using their cell phones while behind the wheel. The opening segment concluded with a clip from Charlie Morecraft’s, of Remember Charlie, latest video program. The Council’s new whitepaper on distracted driving can be downloaded from their website at www.nsc.org.

Post dinner, the award was presented to Mr. Pardee, who gave an excellent speech which detailed the safety success of his company. Of the many great statistics Mr. Pardee shared, I found the most impactful statement that Excelon Nuclear has never had an on-the-job fatality.

Exelon Nuclear, a business unit of Exelon Corporation, operates the largest nuclear fleet in the nation and the third largest fleet in the world, employing 8,500 people. Headquartered in Warrenville, IL, Exelon Nuclear operates 10 stations with 17 reactors and represents an estimated 20 percent of the U.S. nuclear industry’s power capacity. Over 17 million homes are powered by Exelon Nuclear’s generating units.

The Green Cross dinner is the largest fundraising event for the National Safety Council. This year’s event set a record for attendance, with over 700 people. The dinner concluded on time (maybe even a bit before schedule) at 9pm. It was a well planned and executed event, honoring a top notch safety record to a company who works in a hazardous and important injury.