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March 30, 2007 | AECI honors Butch Langsteiner as Safety Person of the Year at Thomas Hill Energy Center Contact : Nancy Southworth Photos available electronically. Contact ceoff@aeci.org. Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. (AECI) has recognized Manfred L. “Butch” Langsteiner, journeyman mechanic, as 2006 Safety Person of the Year at Thomas Hill Energy Center. The annual Safety Person of the Year award is given to employees at AECI’s two large coal plants who demonstrate a commitment to and knowledge of safe work practices. Each plant’s safety committee selects the Safety Person of the Year from a list of 12 Safety Persons of the Month, nominated by plant employees. Langsteiner was nominated for using his extensive emergency training in March 2006 when he observed a contract laborer rubbing the left side of his chest, sweating and breathing hard. After speaking with the man, Langsteiner called security and the control room to report the situation and ask for oxygen. The man was treated and taken to the Moberly hospital, where he was diagnosed as having had a mild heart attack. Langsteiner, who will celebrate 25 years with AECI in April, volunteered years ago for the emergency response team. He’s now the team co-captain. He’s benefited from AECI’s fire and rescue training and first-responder training, including learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid. Quarterly training has helped him keep a watchful eye out for the welfare of plant workers, he said. Langsteiner’s nominator praised him for his attention to the people he worked around and caring enough to approach someone who looked as though they needed medical attention. “Butch may have possibly saved this man’s life,” said the nominator. "We prevented an emergency from happening,” Langsteiner said. “I attribute that to the training. Associated wants you to go home the same way you got here.” AECI’s No. 1 strategic objective is to “Work safely to ensure an accident-free workplace.” Last year, AECI’s coal plants achieved a new safety record. Employees at Thomas Hill Energy Center also worked a full year without an injury that prevented an employee from returning to work the next shift. AECI is owned by and provides wholesale power to six regional and 51 local electric cooperative systems in Missouri, southeast Iowa and northeast Oklahoma that serve more than 850,000 customers. AECI’s mission is to provide an economical and reliable power supply and support services to its members. AECI is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V ### Released: 30 March 2007 |
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