Blue Ridge Electric Earns Record Safety Accreditation
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Public Relations, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383, Ext. 3213; Pager: 1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, North Carolina (October 11, 2006) — Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation has received a record high score for its national safety accreditation from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
Blue Ridge Electric earned a 98 out of a total possible score of 100, which is the highest safety accreditation score the cooperative has received.
The accreditation process is scored in three parts: field observation by safety personnel from other cooperatives on the safety review team, a review process on records of retention, policies and other safety process documentation, and verification of specific requests from NRECA to prove accuracy of the cooperatives documented information on procedures and processes.
The cooperative’s score during the last accreditation, which occurs every three years, was a 95.
“The credit goes to each and every employee who works hard and is dedicated to making Blue Ridge a preferred employer that places full and total emphasis on the safety of all employees,” said Julie O’Dell Michie, vice president of human resources. “I also would like to thank Ronnie Jewell, safety and training manager, for his oversight and coordination of our safety program. He put much time and effort into preparing us well for the accreditation process and he does an outstanding job of leading the safety effort on a daily basis.”
The Rural Electric Safety Accreditation Program is one of the few programs in the country that provides a management tool for a continuous safety and loss control assessment specific to rural electric utilities. Founded in 1967, the safety program promotes higher standards in safety and loss control in the rural electric community.
Blue Ridge Electric is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative serving some 70,000 members in seven North Carolina counties.
