Montrose, CO — City of Montrose Safety Coordinator Lisa Kuczmarski was awarded the 2018 Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency (CIRSA) Safety Champion Award during the CIRSA general membership meeting held Tuesday, June 18, in Breckenridge.
Kuczmarski is a member of the city's Human Resources Department and has a long history of safety advocacy throughout the community.
"Lisa has worked hard to be a strong safety advocate for the City of Montrose," said Terri Wilcox, human resources director for the City of Montrose. "She brings forth the city’s core beliefs of respect, ethics, leadership, accountability, transparency, and excellence in her service as our safety coordinator. She believes that being proactive rather than reactive is the key to establishing and maintaining a strong safety culture."
In her nomination, Kuczmarski was described as being instrumental in promoting monthly Safety Committee meetings at the City of Montrose to increase regular communication and reinforce the city's high expectations regarding workplace safety.
"This creates a sense of buy-in to the organization and shows the importance placed on the Safety Committee members," Wilcox said.
In 2018, Kuczmarski's efforts helped raise awareness of best hygiene practices during the cold, flu, and whooping cough seasons. She helped get welded ladders placed on two city dump trucks, installed winter survival kits for city administrative vehicles, and installed a fully compliant fuel system for the Black Canyon Golf Course.
Kuczmarski worked with the city's Engineering and Public Works Departments to ensure EPA and the Colorado Department of Water Resources compliance as well as safe working conditions during remediation of the city's fire-damaged pedestrian bridge over the Uncompahgre River.
"Lisa also taught basic worker safety classes to over 500 employees during the city and county’s 2018 annual Education Day training," Wilcox said. "Her commitment and positive attitude toward safety were well received and gave positive exposure to our safety programs to the Montrose County audience.”
In addition, Kuczmarski started meeting with the city’s Public Works Department each month to provide increased training opportunities, monitor housekeeping efforts, and help establish a respirator fit testing program.
According to CIRSA, the Safety Champion Award "recognizes individual employees, groups, managers, etc. who go above and beyond the call of duty to foster a positive safety culture within their entity."
CIRSA is a member-owned self-insurance pool supported by more than 270 member municipalities and public entities throughout Colorado.
For more city news visit CityOfMontrose.org.