Wesley Carter from Aka Energy Group was named the top recipient at the tenth annual Southern Ute Growth Fund Safety & Environmental Achievement Awards on Wednesday, March 2. The banquet honors employees from the Southern Ute Growth Fund who have shown dedication in safety and attentiveness to the highest degree. Carter, Process Safety Engineer, was awarded first place due to his implementation of a new Process Safety Management (PSM) Program, as well as leading on process safety events and investigations. Other recipients include Scott Callaghan from Red Cedar Gathering Company, and Rudy Lizaro from Aka Energy Group.

Bruce Valdez, Growth Fund Executive Director, praised his fellow associates with gratitude.

“Every [recipient] has done a great job. They continue to keep everyone in compliance. They helped identify problems, they helped keep employees safe, and they are definite assets to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe … When people talk about safety, a lot of times they’re only talking about the company and business. When I came here, I wanted to promise that we understand what safety really means. We take it very seriously.”

Tribal member Steve Herrera from Red Willow Production Company took home a nomination award for his work with Operations to ensure safety design changes, as well as implementing aspects of the PSM program to E&P facilities for improved work practices.

Herrera stated, “I feel honored. I’ve worked with Red Willow since July 2014, and was with Red Cedar prior. It’s great to be nominated by your peers.”

Other nomination recipients include Alan Bartells, Joe Brett, Brent Brown, Greg Busch, Lawrence Cloud, Ron Davis, Billy Hendricks, Ray Lehr, and Andy Young.