Bethancourt Earns 2017 Safety Professional of the Year Award

The American Society of Safety Engineers announced that Jeremy Bethancourt, a professional member and government affairs chair of its Arizona chapter, has been selected as ASSE’s 2017 Edgar Monsanto Queeny Safety Professional of the Year. He plays a leading role in getting billboards posted throughout Arizona to bring attention to the dangers of distracted driving, the hazards of heat stress and the annual National Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction.

Bethancourt is director of safety, health and training for LeBlanc Building Co. Inc. According to the society, he “has developed a reputation as a tireless advocate for workplace safety, serving as co-founder and program director of ACTA Safety, member of the ANSI/ASSE A10.32 fall protection subcommittee, chair of Arizona’s annual Workers Memorial Day ceremony, co-founder of the Drive Smart Arizona coalition and collaborator in several national construction research projects. In 2013, he was awarded ASSE’s inaugural Triangle Award – commemorating the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire – for his commitment to promoting fall protection.”

In 2012-16, Bethancourt served on OSHA’s Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health. “The best way to see the impact of Jeremy’s efforts is to look on the OSHA website,” said Bill Parsons, Air Force chief of occupational safety and a member of the New Mexico chapter. “A lot of the information given to the residential construction industry is due to the consultation and sharing he has provided.”

He will be honored during Safety 2017, ASSE’s Professional Development Conference & Exposition taking place June 19-22.

The award, given annually to an occupational safety and health professional who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in the safety field while making significant contributions to advancing the safety profession, is named for Edgar Monsanto Queeny, president of the Monsanto Company on April 16, 1947, when a freighter explosion destroyed the company’s Texas City, Texas, plant.