Ames had a very productive year in both Work and Safety.  We all kept very busy, and it looks as if 2005 is going to be even better.

     I would like to take this time to thank all of Management and all of our Employees for their efforts over the last couple of years as far as safety goes.  We went a little over 253,000 hours without a lost time incident.

      I would like to ask everyone to continue to THINK SAFETY, and see if we can surpass our record.

      This was an effort from all, and not just a single person.  Each of us here in Ames, watch out for each other.  We make sure that we all go home to our loved ones at the end of the day.

     I would also like to take this time to thank all of the Safety Committee Members for all of their help and support. We have kept them busy over the winter layoff getting ready for the upcoming season.  Some of the things that we have been working on are new ideas for new hire training, additional training for all employees, and a job specific checklist for new hire training.  We also sent Mark Swanson and Doug Wicks through the Decision Driving Course in Brooklyn so they could become certified trainers. Congratulations to both of them.

Thank you to the following Committee Members  Randy Hugen, Todd Mundt, Mark Swanson, Paul Grove, Fortunado Pena,  Corey Miller, and Jeff Engelby

     I also attended First Aid, CPR and Automatic Defibrillator Training through the American Red Cross Lincolnway Chapter in Ames, to become a Certified Trainer.

The First Aid and CPR Training will be offered to all of our employees and their spouses at no charge.    After speaking to Tom, this training will also be offered to our contractors at a small fee to cover the cost of materials.

     I will also be doing training to any of our other plants that request this.  If any of you would like this training, please contact me and we can set up a date and time to do this.

     Hope everyone is well, and lets have another safe and productive year.