Safety’s no “bull” at the MSU Safety Rodeo
Anthony Yuhasz
July 16, 2019
The MSU Pavilion; a place known for its animal exhibitions, RV/home shows, rodeos and yoga with Sparty.
Wait…yoga with Sparty?
Yes, yoga with Sparty was just one of several sessions offered during the June 24 MSU Safety Rodeo sponsored by IPF in collaboration with supply chain solutions company, Wesco.
The idea for the Safety Rodeo began with a conversation Occupational Safety compliance officer Andy Smith, and Safety supervisor Mary Clark had with representatives from Wesco during a training they were holding at IPF Materials and Logistics.
“Wesco mentioned that they do safety rodeos all around the U.S. for various companies, and Andy thought it would be a great way to strengthen the safety culture at IPF,” Clark said.
Both Smith and Clark gathered information from various IPF departments, the IPF Safety Committee and the Executive Leadership Team as to what topics might be useful to our staff when performing their work.
“Once we had a list of what we wanted, we worked with Wesco to coordinate the trainings,” Clark said. “I also contacted other departments on campus to see if they were interested in participating. Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), MSU Police, Landscape Services and MSU Health 4U were all excited about the opportunity.”
When it came to securing a facility to host the event, MSU staff once again helped. “Scott Rancour of the MSU Pavilion stepped up and allowed us to use their facility,” Clark said. “He was so accommodating to all of our needs and was instrumental in us being able to execute a successful event.”
On the day of the event, the almost 140 attendees enjoyed demonstrations of various safety equipment, displays by several vendors of safety gear and educational sessions regarding personal and occupational safety.
“The sessions offered really drew a lot of interest, especially Ride, Hide, Fight with MSU Police officer Steve Beard, Avoid Stings, Rashes and Landscape Hazards with MSU arborist Jerry Wahl and Stand-Up Yoga with MSU Health 4U’s T.J. Hall,” Clark said. “And we can’t forget our special guest Sparty, who participated in the yoga session as well as in the fire extinguisher training.”
Smith and Clark thank everyone who helped make this event a success, the IPF staff who helped in the planning and execution, the vendors who generously donated their time and materials and all who were able to attend the event.
“IPF Safety hopes to host this event again in 2020,” Smith said. “We also want to expand it to include EHS, Residential and Hospitality Services and MSU Farms.”