by Lornna Bates
Managing Editor
Dr. Wayne Jones, chair of the department of occupational safety and health of Southeastern was presented with the President’s Award amidst the Safety 2011 Professional Development Conference and Exposition held in Chicago by the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).
The ASSE President’s Award is the highest presidential honor given to a member of the society. Jones’s honor is perhaps made all the more special considering that ASSE is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2011, a century of educating and practicing safety accomplishments.
Jones said the acknowledgement was most unexpected. Although ASSE’s Board of Delegates did contact Jones with the information previous to the Chicago conference, it was only with the intention of ensuring Jones would be present at the delegation meeting held the Sunday prior to the conference to receive the award.
It was a good thing the board called to verify his arrival, said Jones, as his scheduled flight was departing within a couple hours of the opening of the meeting. “I probably will not make it,” Jones kidded to the board, as his plane did not even depart till Sunday morning within hours of the meeting, “and even then, Chicago is not exactly a small city,” continued Jones.
Jones changed his flight plans and accepted his award.
Jones typically has a jovial and playful demeanor and has been known to whistle his way across campus, stopping often to converse with faculty, staff and/or student.
Since 2001, Jones has been the chair of the occupational safety and health program of Southeastern. He has been a full-time member of the faculty since 1997.
Throughout his employment with Southeastern, Jones has also been the recipient of other awards given both by Southeastern and ASSE, including the Dr. William E. Tarrants Outstanding Safety Educator Award of 2009, the most distinguished honor for an educator in the field of safety and health to receive from ASSE.
“I love what I do,” said Jones. “And, I love the kids.”
And then in true Jones fashion, he added, “Although there are times I wonder about them.”
