Page 5
Fotofax is 100
Do you remember this
DuPonter? He played an
important role in the history
of our plant newspaper.
This issue of Fotofax marks the 100th
edition of our newspaper. It was twenty
years ago, July 1968, when the first Foto
fax rolled off the presses.
Do you remember how the paper got
its name? In a contest an entry was sub
mitted by Tom Walker (pictured), the main
tenance shift foreman assigned to “A”
shift at the time. Tom thought the name
was appropriate and a little bit unusual,
the judges thought so too.
The first Fotofax editor was Oscar Har
bin, then Mel Everingham followed by Bob
Hale and presently Keith Harbin. Do you
know anyone who has all 100 copies of
Fotofax? Well, we do. Out from the deep
dank dungeon, up with archival editions.
Yes! The Personnel Development Office
has all 100 editions. Looking back twenty
years to that first newspaper we find some
interesting things happening:
• Jack Dense, Plant Manager, talks
about ten years of progress and con
struction currently underway on
expansion of Finishing operations,
control tests, cafeteria, offices, power
and service facilities. Good news,
preliminary construction is underway
on a new coater. Plant population is
expected to grow to 900.
• Fun on the property: DERA mem
bers have the opportunity to fish for
$1.00 per day and hunt at a modest
fee, depending on the type of game
hunted. The Guion Farm can be
reserved for a deposit of $10.00
• Jim Hollingsworth is promoted to
Group Supervisor.
• The employees of Brevard Plant win
the Board of Directors’ Safety Award
for the third time.
• John Love, Henry Adams and Mar
shall Johnson win the Burma-Shave
Off-the-Job Safety Sign Contest.
• More than 3000 people visit the plant
during “Family Day,” an Open House
event in June.
SEEN AND HEARD SYNOPSIS
FROM FOTOFAX #1
• Dr. Foster and Ken Grogan cautiously
fill helium balloons in a way the balloons
do not come in contact with Ken’s cigar.
• Ramona and the children look for Gra
ham Grant’s safety prize. • Jackie Hall,
Laboratory Technician, shows the magic
of nylon creation. • Plant doctor. Jack Fos
ter and nurse, Jimmie Loftis tell about hav
ing a safe Family Day. • Roger and Anita
Heiser enjoy refreshments. • Quentin
Clark tells Brenda and Ronnie Waldrop
about the Lissajous curve formed by elec
trons being deflected. • The optical illu
sion of water pouring from a faucet with
no pipes was a big hit. • Jim Arnold
brought his wife Anne, and his sister-in-
law to see the Control Lab. • Phyllis
Sapienza says “look dear, a Dimethyl
terephthalate truck.” • Don Stansell and
Robert Woody show their families the
“shoeshiner” that keeps out dust and dirt.
• Jim Rhodes brings his sons on a tour
through Casting. • Stan Turner and his
wife, Jimmie, brought their young ones.
• Jeff New asks, “Could I have a cookie?”
• Ruth McCrary greets visitors while Gary
Trotter and his friend sign up for the door
prizes. • Door prize winners; David
Mackey, Veryle Games. Bob Putnam,
Rene Rahn, Mrs. D.L. Lewis, Lynn Gar-
ren, Judy Gilreath, Sharon Russell,
Roberta Misener, Carolyn Nelson, Rick
Schnatz, David Walker, Mrs. Roberta
Siegfied, Mrs. Howard Whitmire. • Gary
Games and his son help Veryle select the
door prize she won. • A great time was
enjoyed by all.
If anyone would like to look through the
back issues of Fotofax, come by the Per
sonnel Development Office. You can’t take
them away, but, you are welcome to look.
A lot of memories can be relived through
the pages of our newspaper.
Rick Hall at 131
Rick Hall has had 131 safety sugges
tions accepted. Is this a record? You bet!
But the record won’t stand for long. Foto
fax was investigating his having 125 when
his supervisor, Claude Young, told us to
“hold on, he’s just had a few more
accepted, the number is now 131.” Foto
fax asked how long it takes to accumulate
such a number of accepted suggestions?
“Well,” Rick said, “not considering the
ones ‘turned down,’ the first five took
about a year. The next 25 took about 5
years. But the next 25 only took a year
and one-half. It gets easier the more you
get into it.” The magnitude of Rick’s
accomplishment isn’t fully realized. He
has provided us with a safer environment
in which to work; and he’s still on the job
looking for injury potentials. What does a
record like this mean to Rick? Sure, he
has preferred parking places into eternity
and has safety prizes for every twenty-five
suggestions accepted. But Rick’s per
sonal reward, he tells us, is the injuries
he has prevented, and the suffering he
has helped others avoid. He takes great
pride in being able to spot potential prob
lems. The real reward is the satisfaction
of helping others. He is very active in Area
Safety programs and encourages us to
take safety home. Just ask him, you’ll be
surprised at the insight Rick has into
safety awareness both on and off-the-job.
Does he plan to continue turning in safety
suggestions? He sure does. “Forty more
years worth of them,” he said. Consider
ing he is getting more accepted in less
time, he’ll probably end up with about a
zillion. That will make us an equal amount
more safe.
Summer, 1988 FOTOFAX
200 Days Without
a Recordable Injury
V
Everyone celebrates “200 Days — No OHSA Recordable Injuries” with
music and barbecue.
On May 25, 1988, we reached 200 days without an OHSA recordable injury. There
were no lost workday cases, no restricted workday cases and no medical treatment
cases for 200 days.
Commenting on the performance David Miller, Area Supervisor — Safety & Security
said “The attainment of this level of safety indicates we work at a plant site with a safety
record infinitely better than our previous performance. It is an outstanding accomplish
ment for the approximately 1200 of us who have individually helped to establish and
maintain this new record.”
In celebration of the event all Brevard DuPonters were invited to a barbecue meal
with live music. The event was hosted by the On-the-Job Safety Committee.
“Two hundred days is an impressive record and a step change in safety performance,”
said Francis Wilder, Chairman of the On-the-Job Safety Committee.
Entering through the security gate we saw a new Ford loaded with prizes all to be
given away if vve attained 365 days without an injury.
Chuck Hein, Plant Safety Supervisor, explained, “The level of safety, production or
anything else, depends on how important the main factor, in this case people, sees
the goal. We fly our Safety Flag just under ‘Old Glory’ and our state flag to let people
know we hold safety in high regard. We are serious about our safety performance, all
of us. And, we’re serious about each other’s safety as well.”
Editor’s note: The record stretch of days without an injury continued until day 209.
We are determined to reestablish and surpass our previous record.
Big Protection for Little Peopie
Many adults have concocted logic schemes devised to uphold their views for not
wearing seatbelts; you’ve heard most of them. An illuminating perspective is that as
adults we are responsible for our actions or inactions as the case may be. Like it or
not, we are an influence on others especially our children. The following letter was written
by Jane Andersen (Bob’s daughter-in-law) to the parents at the day-care center where
her children attend:
Dear Parents,
I have noticed that some of you do not
use your child seats when bringing or
picking up your children from day care.
I would like to share a recent experience
with you.
My husband, Stephanie, Geoff and I
were in an automobile accident. We were
in our own neighborhood (residential —
not a major road or highway) and only two
blocks from our house. We felt safe. We
have taken walks and pushed our children
in strollers along this road. As we reached
the top of a hill, we were met head-on by
a 16-year-old drinking driver. He was driv
ing a full sized pick-up truck and was
100% in our lane. My husband hit the
brakes but the impact was instantaneous.
There were no skid marks from either
vehicle. The forward force was something
I could never imagine and there was no
time to catch myself, much less grab or
catch the children. Our car was totalled.
Neither child was hurt — this can only be
credited to their car seats. Geoff was in
a toddler seat and Stephanie was in a
booster seat. I was in the back seat
between the children wearing a seat (lap)
belt and still had a ruptured spleen and
a fractured vertebra (broken back). It has
been six weeks and I will be unable to
work for about 6-8 more weeks. The seat
belts saved both my husband’s life and
mine. The child seats not only saved the
children’s lives but also kept them from
being injured!
You can only imagine how quickly
things happen and how thankful we are
that we did everything we should. My chil
dren are alive today because my husband
and I believed in taking the time to strap
them in.
Thank you for taking the time to read
this. Please buckle up your children and
set an example for their future safety by
buckling up yourself.
Sincerely,
Jane Andersen
(Stephanie and Geoff’s Mom)