Awards
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2022 Excellence in Safety Award Winners

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Sacramento - The California Construction and Industrial Materials Association (CalCIMA) announced its 2022 Excellence in Safety Awards winners recently at its Education Conference in La Jolla, California. These awards acknowledge the exceptional work and contributions to safety in regard to leadership, innovation, commitment, and impact beyond the plant.
“The awards celebrate well deserved recognition for individuals and facilities among the CalCIMA Membership for their accomplishments protecting employee health and safety. The companies and persons who have earned the awards have visibly demonstrated and proactively taken steps to improve safety for their employees,” said Meghan Neal, Environment Safety & Health Manager at P.W. Gillibrand Co. and co-chair of the CalCIMA Safety & Health Committee. “Their collective efforts have created a culture of safety that is worthy of recognition. The Safety Awards provide the perfect opportunity to acknowledge those achievements,” said Neal.
The Excellence in Safety Awards honor different categories of mines and plants, such as aggregate, asphalt and concrete, as well as a special recognition award. The winners are:
Large Aggregate Mine: Big Rock Aggregate Facility - Granite Construction Co., Inc. in Llano, CA
Small Aggregate Mine: Highway 175 Quarry - Granite Construction Co., Inc. in Lakeport, CA
Asphalt Plant: Bradshaw Asphalt Concrete Plant - Granite Construction Co., Inc. in Sacramento, CA.
There are also individual winners who have demonstrated that they prioritize and practice safety every day. The winners are:
Safety Professional Award: Dean Browning, Holliday Rock
Safety Professional Award: Josh Peterson, Granite Construction
The Safety Awards were presented by Meghan Neal of P.W. Gillibrand. Safety Award winners are chosen based on an essay describing what’s occurring at the plant, and a panel of judges from CalCIMA’s Safety and Health Committee review and choose the winners.
“We are proud of all the Excellence in Safety Award recipients. It is a great testament to their dedication, commitment, and ingenuity in meeting the demands of safety while producing aggregates, minerals, concrete, and asphalt,” said Robert Dugan, CalCIMA CEO/President. “We are an essential yet challenging business. Each and every one of our recipients personifies the commitment to getting our workers home to their families at the end of each day.”
Congratulations to all the winners!
CalCIMA is the state trade association for aggregate, concrete, asphalt, and industrial mineral producers that provide the materials to build roads, bridges, rail, homes, schools, hospitals, and water systems. Members produce construction materials from over 500 operations throughout the state.
2021 Excellence in Safety Award Winners
Sacramento - The California Construction and Industrial Materials Association (CalCIMA) announced its 2021 Excellence in Safety Awards winners. These awards acknowledge the exceptional work and contributions to safety in regard to leadership, innovation, commitment, and impact beyond the plant.
“Safety has to be Job No. 1 in our industry. We’re proud to prioritize the safety of our workers, from training and tools, to our operational plans focused to ensure all workers are in a safe environment,” said Robert Dugan, President and CEO of CalCIMA. “We continuously work to improve our methods of communication between workers, inspections around plants and quarries, and review general preventative measures. Likewise, we are proud to honor these teams as shining examples of diligence to embrace the obligation to send every employee home to their families at the end of their shift each day.”
The Excellence in Safety Awards honor different categories of mines and plants, such as aggregate, asphalt and concrete. The winners are:
Large Aggregate Mine - United Rock’s Irwindale Quarry (Irwindale, CA)
Small Aggregate Mine - Granite Construction’s Solari Sand & Gravel (Arvin, CA)
Asphalt Plant - Granite Construction’s Desert Cities Asphalt Plant (Indio, CA)
Asphalt Plant - Granite Rock Co.’s Peninsula Road Materials (Redwood City, CA)
Concrete Plant - Granite Rock Co.’s Santa Cruz Concrete (Santa Cruz, CA)
Special Recognition Award - Martin Marietta’s Tehachapi Cement Plant (Tehachapi, CA)
There are also individual winners who have demonstrated that they prioritize and practice safety every day. The winners are:
Outstanding Safety Leadership Award - Stephanie Lovell, A.R. Wilson Quarry Business Manager (Aromas, CA)
Safety Professional Award - Adam Winter, ES&H Manager, Gillibrand Industrial Sands, Inc. (Simi Valley, CA)
Safety Professional Award - Daisy Kwan, Safety Engineer, Granite Rock Co. (Watsonville, CA)
The Safety Awards were presented by Meghan Neal, Director of Environmental, Health and Safety at PW Gillibrand. Safety Awards were chosen based on an essay describing what’s occurring at the plant, and a panel of judges from CalCIMA’s Safety and Health Committee review and choose the winners.
“Safety awards are important to those who embrace their positive safety cultures. They not only value their people, but recognize that paying attention to safety is an important key to business systems,” said safety awards judge Terry Tyson of Insight Services and Presentations. “It results in higher safety, less waste, and high employee morale. People want to work for companies that are safe to work at, and that will attract higher quality candidates. We need to care about our people because we don’t hire robots.”
CalCIMA is the state trade association for aggregate, concrete, asphalt, and industrial mineral producers that provide the materials to build roads, bridges, rail, homes, schools, hospitals, and water systems. Members produce construction materials from over 500 operations throughout the state.
Excellence in Safety
2020 Award Winners
Awards Criteria
Excellence in Safety Award Recipients
2022
Safety Professional Award Josh Peterson, Granite Construction
Safety Professional Award Dean Browning, Holliday Rock
Small Aggregate Granite Construction's Highway 175 Quarry
Large Aggregate Granite Construction's Big Rock Aggregate Facility
Asphalt Plant Granite Construction's Bradshaw Facility
2021
Safety Leadership Award Stephanie Lovell – A.R Wilson Quarry
Safety Professional Award Adam Winter– Gillbrand Industrial Sands
Safety Professional Award Daisy Kwan – Granite Rock Co.
Small Aggregate Granite Construction's Solari Sand & Gravel
Large Aggregate United Rock's Irwindale Quarry
Asphalt Plant Granite Construction's Desert Cities Asphalt Plant
Asphalt Plant Granite Rock Co's Pennisula Road Materials
Concrete Plant Granite Rock Co's Santa Cruz Concrete
Special Recognition Martin Marietta's Tehachapi Cement Plant
2020
Safety Leadership Award Ted Nicholas - Bradshaw Plant
Safety Professional Award -
Honorary COVID-19 Award Ronnie Romiti - Central Concrete
Safety Professional Award Jason Stevenson - 7-11 Materials
Safety Professional Award Dana Bednarik - Granite Construction
Large Aggregate Mine Granite Construction's Vernalis Aggregate Plant
Small Aggregate Mine CalPortland's Rocky Canyon Aggregates
Industrial Mineral Mine Omya, Inc.'s Sentinel Quarry
Concrete Plant Syar Concrete's Vallejo Plant
2019
Safety Professional Award Julio Cazares - Stevens Creek Quarry
Safety Leadership Award Cynthia Escobar - Graniterock's Quail Hollow Quarry
Large Aggregate Mine Graniterock's Arvin Aggregate Facility
Small Aggregate Mine Graniterock's Quail Hollow Quarry
Ready Mixed Concrete Right Away Redy Mix's Pleasanton Plant
2018
Safety Professional Award Juan Hernandez – Lhoist North America
Small Aggregate Granite Construction's Handley Ranch Quarry
Large Aggregate Vulcan Materials Company's Corona Stone
Industrial Mineral Lhoist North America’ Natividad Plant
Ready Mixed Concrete Central Concrete Supply Co., Inc.’s San Jose Plant
2017
Safety Leadership Award John Davis – Catalina Pacific Concrete, CalPortland
Safety Leadership Award Ameet Bodhankar – Lhoist North America - Natividad Plant
Safety Professional Award Gregory "Buzz" Biles – Granite Construction, Inc.
Small Aggregate Vulcan Materials Company's Azusa Rock Quarry
Large Aggregate Cemex's Lytle Creek Aggregates Quarry
Industrial Mineral Lhoist North America’ Natividad Plant
Cement
Ready Mixed Concrete Central Concrete Supply Co., Inc.’ Bode San Francisco Plant
2016
Safety Leadership Award Ramiro Murillo – Lead Kilnman, Natividad Plant, Lhoist North America
Safety Professional Award Brian Bigley – Safety Manager, Tehachapi Plant, Lehigh SW Cement
Small Aggregate CalPortland’s Garey Aggregate Plant
Large Aggregate Vulcan Materials Western Division’s Corona Quarry
Industrial Mineral Lhoist North America’ Natividad Plant,
Specialty Minerals, Inc’s Lucerne Valley Plant
Cement Lehigh Southwest Cement’s Tehachapi Plant,
Ready Mixed Concrete CalPortland’s Ontario Concrete Product Plants
Central Concrete Supply Co., Inc.’ Pleasanton Plant
2015
Safety Leadership Award Brad Riechers, Graniterock’s Southside Sand & Gravel
Gerardo Valencia, Lhoist No. America’s Natividad Plant
Small Aggregate Lehigh Hanson’s Oakland Tidewater Plant
Large Aggregate Graniterock’s A.R. Wilson Quarry
Industrial Minerals L’Hoist No. America’s Natividad Plant
Cement Lehigh SW Cement’s Tehachapi Plant
Ready Mixed Concrete Lehigh Hanson’s San Luis Obispo Plant
2014
Safety Leadership Award Paulo Machado, Cemex’s Modesto Ready Mix Plant
Gary Andrade, Graniterock’s Southside Sand & Gravel
Small Aggregate Graniterock’s Southside Sand & Gravel
Large Aggregate Lehigh Hanson’s Clayton Quarry
Industrial Minerals Lhoist’s Natividad plant
Cement Lehigh Southwest Cement’s Tehachapi Plant
Ready Mixed Concrete CalPortland’s Live Oak Ready Mix Plant
Lehigh Hanson’s Slaughterhouse Canyon
2013
Small Aggregate Mine Calaveras Materials Inc.’s Merced Aggregate Mine
Large Aggregate Mine Lehigh Hanson’s Irwindale Rock Plant
Industrial Mineral Mine Lhoist North America’s Natividad Plant
Ready Mixed Concrete Lehigh Hanson’s Paso Robles Plant
Cement TXI Riverside Cement’s Crestmore Quarry
2012
Safety Leadership Award Sherry Robertson, Granite Construction Co.’s Handley Ranch Quarry
Small Aggregate Mine Santa Fe Aggregates’ Waterford Plant
Large Aggregate Mine Lehigh Hanson’s Carroll Canyon Rock Plant
Industrial Mineral Mine Elementis Specialties, Inc’s Hector Mine
Ready Mixed Concrete CalPortland Construction’s Solvang Plant
2011
Small Aggregate Mine Teichert Aggregates' Hallwood Plant
Large Aggregate Mine United Rock Products' Irwindale Plant
Industrial Mineral Mine Specialty Granules, Inc.'s Ione Plant
Ready Mixed Concrete CalPortland's West Los Angeles Plant
(2008-2010 awards given to plant managers)
2010
Small Aggregate Mine James O’Brien, Los Banos Plant Manager, Vulcan Materials, West Div.
Large Aggregate Mine Randy Riberdy, Sun Valley Plant Manager, Vulcan Materials, West Div.
Ready Mixed Concrete Tom Bascue, Los Banos/Gustine Plant Manager, Vulcan Materials, WD
2009
Small Aggregate Mine Dean Browning, GM, Holliday Rock, Co., Inc.
Large Aggregate Mine Greg Wilkerson, Corono Quarry Manager, Vulcan Materials, West Div.
Michael Cunningham, Perkins Plant Manager, Teichert Aggregates
Industrial Minerals Mike McGath, Hector Mine Manager, Elementis Specialties, Inc.
Ready Mixed Concrete Lenny Price, Operations Manager, CalPortland
2008
Small Aggregate Mine Chuck Berry, Plant Operations Manager, Raisch Products
Large Aggregate Mine Alan Armstrong, Corona Quarry Manager, CEMEX
Cement Plant Mike Robertson, Colton Plant Manager, CalPortland
Industrial Minerals Jerry Stacy, Plant Manager, Gladding, McBean Co.
Doug Mayger, General Manager, Specialty Minerals, Inc.
Ready Mixed Concrete Ted Cordts, Colton Operations Manager, CalPortland