BNSF News

Winners of 2012 Safety Drawing Contest Named

2012-02-02

Dakota Sheperd, 17, daughter of David Sheperd, assistant director, Maintenance Schedules, in Fort Worth, was the grand prize winner for the 2012 Safety Drawing Contest.

Sheperd's endearing pencil sketch of a family circle clinched the top prize.
Sponsored by Labor Relations and Safety, the contest focused on the themes of "Safety for Us" and "Bee Safe for Me." The contest was open to children, grandchildren or other dependents of BNSF employees and retirees.

Age group winners

• Ages 3 and younger: Amber Neill, 3, daughter of R.A. Neill, locomotive engineer, Winslow, Ariz.
• Ages 4-6: Madison Gresham, 6 daughter of Kevin Gresham, road foreman of engines, Wichita, Kan.
• Ages 7-9: Elizabeth Tidball, 9, daughter of Lowell W. Tidball, locomotive engineer, Edgemont, S.D.
• Ages 10-12: Chloe Thomas, 12, daughter of Charles Thomas, manager, Environmental Remediation, Fort Worth.
• Ages 13-15: Colton Sheperd, 15, son of David Sheperd, assistant director, Maintenance Schedules, Fort Worth.
• Ages 16-18: Hannah Goble, 17, daughter of Jim Goble, manager, Marketing, Fort Worth.

In addition, two entries were awarded Honorable Mention/Judge's Awards for their creativity. Those awards went to Kacie Boniface, 12, daughter of Dennis Boniface, locomotive engineer, Lafayette, La., and August VanCleave, 13, grandson of Kevin Piper, locomotive engineer, Lincoln, Neb.

Each age-group winner and Honorable Mention/Judge's Award recipient received a prize.

Mark Schulze, vice president, Safety, Training and Operations Support, said 231 entries were submitted for this year's contest, and he was pleased with how well the submissions demonstrated that working injury-free benefits employees as well as their families.

"Every day, we focus on safe production as we work toward our vision of creating a workplace with zero incidents or injuries," Schulze said. "Nothing is more important than returning home safely at the end of the workday to our families and loved ones, and the entries did a great job of illustrating some of the reasons why it's so essential for us to eliminate at-risk behaviors and to speak up anytime we see a co-worker putting himself or herself at risk."

Click here to see the winning entries. The winning submissions will also be displayed on BNSF-TV and in an upcoming Railway magazine. Also, a new Safety for Us poster will show entries from the contest.

BNSF Headquarters

BNSF Railway Company
2650 Lou Menk Dr. 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 961057
Fort Worth, TX 76161-0057
Phone: (817) 352-1000

For more information on the company and its transportation solutions, visit the BNSF Web site at www.bnsf.com