Tom Welton, general prevention services director at Workplace Safety North, was recognized as 2018 Volunteer of the Year by the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP).
He was presented the award at the Canadian Society of Safety Engineers conference in Niagara Falls, Sept.16-19.
“Helping make workplaces and communities safer is very meaningful work and I’m grateful I can contribute my knowledge and experience to others who share the same dedication,” said Welton in a Sept.24 news release.
Welton has more than 30 years of experience as a health and safety professional in the forestry, pulp and paper industry. He has held numerous positions with the Ontario Forestry Safe Workplace Association, which was amalgamated into Workplace Safety North in 2010 and is headquartered in North Bay.
In 2004, Welton joined the BCRSP governing board as a governor, serving a two-year term. Since 2006, he has served as chair of the Regional Screening Centre for the Ontario Near North region, and he also serves as the BCRSP Regional Communications Liaison for Ontario North, and was recently appointed as the Chair of the BCRSP Communications-RCL Committee.
He graduated from Lakehead University with a forestry diploma and took the occupational health and safety program at Ryerson University.
Welton is an active member of the North Bay community, serving as a board member of the YMCA, and Nipissing Trackers, which provides free downhill skiing instruction for kids with special needs.
The BCRSP Volunteer of the Year program was initiated in 2001 in conjunction with its 25th anniversary and the United Nations’ Year of the Volunteer. To be eligible, candidates must be a Canadian Registered Safety Professional in good standing, must have served in one or more volunteer capacities with the BCRSP other than the Governing Board, and must have been a volunteer for a minimum of five years.
