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Safety education is a forever process

July 1, 2005 By    

I remember running home on the last day of grade school. Soon we would pack the old car and head up to the lake for the summer.

 Jay Johnston
Jay Johnston

Mom taught third grade so we could spend summers together. Dad worked in the city all week and came up every weekend.

It was my plan to be a bum, catch frogs and sunfish off the dock all summer long. After all, school was out and I had earned the right to stop learning.

Mom had other ideas. She said we never stop learning and I had a book list and a timetable that filled up every morning of the summer. On Wednesdays my brother took trumpet lessons in the nearby town, while mom did the laundry and I read.

It was in that laundromat one day in the middle of the summer that I discovered she was right about learning.

While reading books like “Moby Dick,” “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” “The Hardy Boys” and “Call of the Wild.” I developed a sense of adventure about learning. In the afternoons I would fish for Moby off the dock, build a raft and spy on the neighbors, or have my dog pull our wagon.

Life came alive through my reading adventures and I’ll never forget that summer I learned to love to learn. It’s probably why I like to write.

To this day I love to do research on behalf of my clients. I pursue continuing education year-round about safety, insurance, consulting and all aspects of my clients’ businesses.

I took CETP Basic Principles last year and plan to take Delivery this year. In addition, I will attend vendor/supplier seminars on sizing heaters, DOT pipeline safety, hearth product installation, electronic metering, a review of NFPA 54 updates, regulator design and function, venting and pump maintenance. I feel such continuing education helps me be better at my job.

With this in mind, I am asking each of you to consider your own continuing education through CETP and other informational courses designed to document your education and further your knowledge of the propane industry.

Attend a trade show, workshop, or vendor supplier education session whenever you can. Pick up a trade magazine and read an article on safety or a legal case of interest.

You will benefit from new ways to address problems you face every day. You will interact with and you will learn from fellow classmates.

You will learn to enjoy a new perspective and the pride that comes from learning something new.

Mom turns 79 this summer and she’s still always right.

Have a great summer and make sure your safety education is an ongoing process.

Jay Johnston (www.thesafetyleader.com) is President of Jay Johnston & Associates, specializing in insurance consulting, safety communication design and educational safety seminars. He can be reached at 888-725-2705 or
Jay@thesafetyleader.com.

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