2019 National TRANSCAER® Award Winners

July 23, 2020

While 2020 seems to rush by, we’re taking another moment to press pause and recognize the 2019 National TRANSCAER Award winners. We highlighted the first batch of winners in our last issue, now read along as we recognize another group of hardworking, dedicated individuals.

Carrie Maxim-Distinguished Service Award

CIAC congratulates Carrie Maxim, National TRANSCAER Committee Co-Chair, on receiving the 2019 TRANSCAER Distinguished Service Award.

Carrie is Acknowledged for her long-term and sustained dedication to the TRANSCAER initiative that has fostered growth, recognition, and enhancement of this important initiative in many regions.

Prior to serving as the National TRANSCAER Committee Co-Chair, Carrie served as the Ontario Region TRANSCAER committee Chair and Co-Chair for more than 5 years. Carrie has worked tirelessly to increase the profile of TRANSCAER within her organization, community, region, and nationally to meet expectations of our many stakeholder groups and to engage our TRANSCAER partners.

During her involvement with TRANSCAER, Carrie has been fundamental in developing and implementing a successful transition plan and tracking mechanism for the initiative’s outreach events in Ontario. As the National TRANSCAER Committee Co-Chair, Carrie has played a key role in establishing the CIAC’s TRANSCAER Awards, the new TRANSCAER logo and branding, and expanded membership on the National TRANSCAER Committee.

Carrie’s commitment to ensuring that communities are aware and prepared has helped to make the CIAC and the broader chemistry industry be seen as a credible leader in transportation safety.

Chris Nicholson-Regional Achievement

Chris Nicholson, a Senior Dangerous Goods Officer with Canadian National Railway has received a 2019 TRANSCAER Regional Service Award.

Chris has been a great advocate of the TRANSCAER program as part of the CN initiative to promote safe handling of dangerous goods. As a committed member of the Ontario Region TRANSCAER Committee Chris encourages and promotes the Canadian railway industry’s commitment to TRANSCAER. Chris has done a phenomenal job of promoting and facilitating TRANSCAER Initiatives and successfully attracting new participants and members in the Ontario region.

In addition to the work Chris does to promote TRANSCAER, he has frequently facilitated many TRANSCAER railway-based presentations for first responders in Eastern Canada. Chris has gone above and beyond in both his promotion of the initiative and ensuring the effective delivery of TRANSCAER training and tools.

GATX – Regional Achievement Group Award

Congratulations to Jeff Nee, Tyler Yates, Trina Kautzmann, Jim Torres, Jennifer Radbourne, George Biggs, and Cris Mitchell of GATX Corporation, who are recipients of the 2019 TRANSCAER Regional Achievement Group Award.

The GATX group has made exceptional contributions to regional TRANSCAER events in the Prairies. Most notably, in 2019 the group co-hosted a 2-day rail and road emergency response training event in Fort Saskatchewan. With the help of the GATX group, the event had a remarkable turnout, with 8 Prairie Region TRANSCAER members represented, and more than 70 first responders and 100 GATX customers in attendance.

Additionally, GATX has played a key role in the acquiring and development of our new Safety Train. Since the retirement of the CCPX 911 tank car in 2019, GATX continues to expand their involvement with the TRANSCAER® Initiative with their generous donation of a tank car for TRANSCAER to use as the new Safety Train.

Together the GATX group has exhibited exceptional delivery of TRANSCAER tools and training to new audiences, recruited new TRANSCAER participants, and have attracted positive media attention.