The next Safety Fest will be held January 26-29, 2010.

Fourth Annual Safety Fest of the Great Northwest - Boise, Idaho

The 4th annual Safety Fest of the Great Northwest was held at the Washington Division of URS Corporation offices in Boise, Idaho January 27-30, 2009. The annual Safety Fest of the Great Northwest provides free safety training to any interested party in the Northwest.

This year participants actually came from nine states. The event featured four full days of training classes for a total of 39 classes, including three in Spanish. A total of 718 participants registered for the event resulting in a total of 1,562 classroom attendees overall.

Several classes also included hands-on demonstrations and practice.

VENDORS - Helping us keep it free.

There were 15 commercial health and safety vendor booths and 12 government or professional society information displays including;

Much of the event cost was covered by the paid vendor booths. Vendors also sponsored food breaks during the event.

VOLUNTEERS - Helping us keep it free.

Volunteers from the sponsoring groups provided on-site registration, escorted participants to classrooms, introduced speakers, and assisted in classroom logistics. All speakers and presenters provided their services without charge.

The combination of vendor sponsorship and all of the volunteer efforts kept costs to a minimum, while providing an invaluable contribution to the improvement of safety and health to the many small and medium sized businesses that sent employees.

HIGH POINTS and COMMENTS

High points included Tom Zarges, President of the URS Washington Division presenting the Welcome address, followed by Richard Terrill, Region X OSHA Administrator, in the opening session on Tuesday. Spanish-speaking attendees received live translated versions of the opening addresses. A presentation by Major Fred Long on Homeland Security concluded the morning opening program.

Some comments from participants included:

• “One of the best presenters, if not the best…kept us involved for the full 4 hours.”
• “This was hands down the most informative, best presented, most helpful class I have ever been to! And having worked for the local water company for 18 years, I have been to lots of classes.”
• “Best OSHA course/instructor I have ever had.”

A number of comments reflected the adult approach to learning with the many group activities and hands-on exercises:

• “Really enjoyed the hands-on training and demonstrations”
• “Excellent learning adventure.”

Don’t miss the learning adventure next year: Same time, same price--Free!