IAPA Press Releases
Press Release
| April 20, 2009 |
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Journalist Honoured for Outstanding Health and Safety Reporting
Mississauga, Ontario – April 20, 2009 – IAPA has proudly awarded Dan Birch with a 2009 IAPA Russ Ramsay Media Awards for Excellence in Health and Safety Reporting.
Dan, a journalist with OHS Canada magazine, was honoured with the Award for Trade Media: Excellence in Print Feature Reporting, for his article “Under Fire”, a thought provoking piece discussing the non-traditional workplace health and safety concerns of police officers. Originally published in the June 2008 issue of the magazine, “Under Fire” tells personal stories of officers who have lost their lives while on duty with the RCMP, explains the dangers of the job, the financial challenges that the RCMP face in correcting the issue, and the fine line between the safety of the lone officer and the safety of the individual(s) needing police intervention.
The IAPA Russ Ramsay Media Awards were established to honour outstanding journalism that enhances the public awareness and understanding of occupational health and safety issues in Ontario. This is the second year for the award. Media were invited to submit work in four categories: television feature reporting, radio feature reporting, and print feature reporting (consumer and trade publications). Twenty-one submissions were received for 2009 Award consideration.
“We are very proud to recognize Dan with an IAPA Russ Ramsay Media Award. His work embodies a commitment to excellent journalism and has raised the profile of workplace health and safety with the masses,” says Maureen Shaw, IAPA President and CEO. “At IAPA, we work to improve the quality of life in workplaces and communities we serve. We recognize that the partnership and support of the media is invaluable in educating the public on the enormity of these issues and we encourage more journalists to tackle these very important topics and help us in our mission to initiate societal change.”
A panel of IAPA staff, including Vice President Client Services Division, Michael Abromeit, Manager, Corporate Communications, Holly-Ann Campbell, Corporate Communications and PR Specialists, Meagan Parker and Lena Wan, Information Resources Consultant, Cyrus Gordon, and IAPA Board member, Cheryl Gasparet, were joined with media professionals, to judge each entry that was received. Journalistic analysis was provided by public relations professional, Edye Rome, Accident Prevention magazine editor, Scott Williams, and University of Western Ontario journalism professor, Cliff Lonsdale.
Dan was presented with his award today in front of over 1,600 health and safety professionals and fellow media representatives at Health & Safety Canada 2009, IAPA’s annual health and safety conference and trade show, taking place April 20 – 22 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
The IAPA Russ Ramsay Media Awards for Excellence in Health and Safety Reporting is an annual award open to all radio, television, and print (consumer and trade) media broadcast and distributed in Ontario. The 2010 Awards will be expanded to include student print and radio media. The Award was named after Russ Ramsay, IAPA’s Executive Vice-President and General Manager from 1987-1995, a health and safety advocate, former Ontario Minister of Labour, and member of the broadcasting industry for over 30 years.
The award winning piece will be available on the IAPA website (www.iapa.ca).
IAPA (Industrial Accident Prevention Association) is a not-for-profit, member-driven organization operating in Ontario since 1917. Representing approximately 50,000 member firms and more than 1.5 million Ontario workers, IAPA is Canada’s leader in workplace health, safety, and employee well-being. IAPA is focused on providing industry-leading training, consulting, educational products, and informational services that meet our members’ needs and the needs of those in their communities. IAPA is also recognized as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Occupational Health and an International Labour Organization – CIS Collaborating Centre. IAPA is ISO 9001 certified, has been awarded the NQI PEP® Level 4 for Quality Certificate, and the Canada Awards for Excellence Gold Trophy Awards for both Quality and Healthy Workplace.
ATTENTION MEDIA: IAPA is now accepting applications for the 2010 IAPA Russ Ramsay Media Awards for Excellence in Health and Safety Reporting. All Ontario trade and consumer media – print (newspapers or magazines), radio, and television – distributed and broadcast in Ontario are invited to submit pieces of work focusing on workplace health and safety. Universities and colleges are also invited to submit work in the Student Media print and radio categories. Only work published or aired between January 1 and December 31, 2009 will be eligible. For award consideration, all materials must be submitted to IAPA by Tuesday, February 9, 2010.
For more information on IAPA’s programs, products, services, and awards programs, visit IAPA’s website at www.iapa.ca.
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For more information, or for a photo of the award presentation, please contact:
Holly-Ann Campbell
Corporate Communications, Manager
IAPA (Industrial Accident Prevention Association)
Tel: 905-614-4272, ext. 2437
E-mail: hcampbell@iapa.ca
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