Keynote: Greg Bell
8:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Water the Bamboo®: Unleash Your Potential
Giant timber bamboo will grow an amazing 90 feet in less than 60 days. However, it takes 4-5 years of watering and attention to get those results, so bamboo farmers must be disciplined, patient, persistent, hard-working, and optimistic. And they must have faith that years of hard work will pay off, so they adopt the characteristics of their goal, the giant timber bamboo: sustainability, integrity, resilience, versatility, flexibility.
Watering your goal—or bamboo—with focused attention can lead to astonishing results. Those who catch the spirit and understand the principles of the bamboo farmer will see their well-watered visions suddenly explode into reality—seemingly out of nowhere. This keynote will help everyone from front-line employees to upper management focus on the importance of self-responsibility and creating value for those we work and live with. The message goes beyond the workplace to show us how to enrich our personal lives as well.
Oregon Safety Summit
10:30 a.m. – noon. Wednesday, March 9, 2011
A moderated panel discussion with leaders from four Oregon companies, who will present their perspectives on safety and health within their organizations and the expectations they have of the safety and health function. Topics covered will include:
• Achieving management commitment and employee participation
• Demonstrating safety leadership and overcoming obstacles
• Measuring the performance of a safety and health program and staff
• Other thoughts on making your workplace safer
Cory Oace
Cory Oace, Administrator
Dallas Retirement Village, Dallas
Under the leadership of Cory Oace, the Dallas Retirement Village received a nearly $650,000 grant from Oregon OSHA to promote safe patient handling in 2008. Sprains and strains among nurses and other health care workers comprise a significant portion of all workplace injuries, with more than 500 reported each year in Oregon. Oace has been a licensed practicing nursing home administrator since 1997 and has been with the Dallas facility since 2000. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Oregon State University.
Lynne Saxton
Lynne Saxton, Chief Executive Officer
ChristieCare, Marylhurst
Since 2002, Saxton has been the executive leader of ChristieCare, an $11 million children’s mental health provider. In the mid-2000s, falls and back injuries drove up loss time at the nonprofit. Saxton made it a priority to invest in facility maintenance and a formal safety training program. Now claims are trending in the right direction. She has also been the owner of an audio book retailer and served as the public affairs manager at Portland General Electric. Saxton earned a Bachelor of Arts from Willamette University.
Matt Smith
Matt Smith, President
L&M Industrial Fabrication, Tangent
Matt Smith is president of L&M Industrial Fabrication, a producer of structural steel used in commercial buildings and heavy industrial applications. Since joining L&M in 2002, Smith has been active in changing the work culture to reflect a “safety first” attitude, managed from the top down. The result has been a significant reduction in injuries, leading Smith to share his experience with other small businesses. A licensed professional engineer and graduate of Oregon Institute of Technology, Smith has more than 19 years of operational experience in construction and heavy manufacturing. Prior to his role at L&M, Smith worked in operations management for Knife River Corporation, a subsidiary of MDU Resources.
Steffanie Smith
Steffanie Smith, Chief Executive Officer
River Point Farms, Hermiston
As a leader in the fresh produce industry for 20 years, Steffanie Smith is chief executive officer of River Point Farms. Prior to joining the company’s executive team, Smith served as president of the Deli/Prepared Foods Division of Taylor Farms, the largest fresh-cut vegetable supplier to the foodservice industry. Smith began her career in agriculture working for the United Fresh Produce Association in Washington, D.C. She then moved to Salinas, Calif., where she focused on sales, marketing, and operations in the early days of the emerging source-based bagged salad industry. Smith earned her degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and serves as Chairman of Board of Directors for the United Fresh Produce Association.
