Stephanie Sedore Safety Specialist FFF Enterprises

Meet Stephanie Sedore, she has held Quality Assurance, Recruiting, Human Resources and Business Operations positions at Steele and Vaughn Moving and Storage, Novartis Animal Health, InfoNXX, and Johnson Controls in Michigan and North Carolina. Stephanie completed her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Jordan College in 1995. This fall she is heading back to Guilford College to complete her Bachelor of Science in Sport Management

Some key and fun facts about Stephanie:

• Name, Title, Company:  Stephanie Sedore, Safety Specialist, FFF Enterprises
• Years in the safety industry: 4 years in a Direct Safety Role/ 14 years of HR and Quality Assurance Experience combined
• Years as an ASSP member: 4 Years
• Key job responsibilities: The overall safety of 70+ teammates at our North Carolina Distribution Center with a key focus on Workplace Ergonomics and Warehouse Safety Training.
• Most meaningful professional achievement:  Obtaining the PHR certification from HRCI before the age of 30! Most of my career was spent as an HR professional (Recruiter, HR Specialist, HR Manager) In 2019, I decided to try something different and ended up at FFF Enterprises.  Making a successful transition from HR Professional to a Safety Professional has been one of the most meaningful achievements so far.  It was very scary to step out of my comfort zone and learn from scratch!
• Future career goal or aspiration: I am currently preparing to take the exams for the BCSP STS and CIT certifications.  Eventually,  I would like to offer consulting services in the areas of Ergonomics and Mental Health First Aid. I hope to encourage other safety professionals to learn more about Mental Health First Aid and how it can impact Worker Safety.
• Go-to comfort food: French Fries with a lot of ketchup
• Hobbies: Creating my own wellness products and gardening.
• Favorite book read: I love going through actual cookbooks to find new recipes

Lance Miller MS, CSP, RSO, LSO Consultant Carolina Safety & Health Consultants, LLC.

Meet Lance Miller, he has held both management and hands-on positions developing and implementing EHS programs in single and multiple site environments.  He has worked for Ford Motor Company, BMW Manufacturing, General Electric, BASF and others.  Lance earned his B.S. in Industrial Hygiene from Ohio University and his M.S. in Industrial Hygiene from Purdue University, where he attended as a NIOSH Fellow.  He is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Laser Safety Officer (LSO), Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) and Qualified Sales Safety Professional (QSSP).  He currently serves as the Standards Expert for the Triad Chapter.  He is also an OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainer for General Industry 10- and 30-Hour Courses. 

Some key and fun facts about Lance:

• Name, Title, Company:  Lance Miller, Principal Consultant, Carolina Safety and Health Consultants
• Years in the safety industry: 24 Years
• Years as an ASSP member: 20 Years
• Key job responsibilities: Developing Programs and Addressing Client Needs
• Most meaningful professional achievement:  Developed a widely-used Arc-Flash Program
• Future career goal or aspiration: Continue development of his business
• Go-to comfort food: Dark Chocolate Pecan Turtles
• Hobbies: Running, camping, hiking
• Favorite book read: Project Hail Mary

Kenneth “Brandon” Harvey, Safety Engineer for Thomas Built Buses

Meet Kenneth “Brandon” Harvey, Senior Safety Engineer for Thomas Built Buses. He has been a safety professional for over 12 years. In his current role, he is responsible for the overall safety of 1,800 employees covering 20 campuses with 9 different automotive manufacturing plants.

Some key and fun facts about Brandon:

• Years in the safety industry: 8 years in the safety industry.
• Years as an ASSP member: 12 years as an active member (including college)
• Key job responsibilities: Responsible for the overall safety of 1,800 employees covering two campuses with 9 different automotive manufacturing plants.
• Most meaningful professional achievement: Completing my CSP.
• Future career goal or aspiration: Cooperate Safety Director.
• Go-to comfort food: Pizza.
• Hobbies: Fly-Fishing, Golf, Coaching Youth Sports.
• Favorite book read: Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide.

Charles Little, General Manager for WestRock

This month Charles is celebrating his 35^th year of service as a NC EMT and NC Firefighter and NC Fire Instructor. He also serves on the Federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team DMAT for the Department of Human and Health Services as the Commanding Safety Officer.

Charles’ safety career began in 1999 as a Safety Professional for RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company.  In 2008, he transitioned to WestRock as a Process Engineer with responsibility for Safety and Environmental Departments. He has progressed in the WestRock family from Process Engineer to Superintendent to Plant Manager and most recently for the past several years as the Plant General Manager. 

As General Manager, Charles says that his role is safety focused, from a day-to-day operations to the highest strategic view.  He leads a continued focus on daily process’ and leading indicators of safety-what’s next!

He knows that his background yields him to safety each day.  Charles has a true passion for helping people and impacting their every day in a positive manner.

Van Johnson, EHS Specialist ITG Brands, Greensboro, NC

Our current Nominations and Election Committee Chair, Van has been Triad Chapter member for over 17 years and has held various board positions including Chapter President in 2011 and 2012. He received the Triad Chapter’s Safety Profession of the Year (SPY) in 2012.

He is currently employed as the EHS Specialist with ITG Brands at the Greensboro Operations plant and has been with them for over 18 years and prior to that he was the EHS Manger with Eden Yards (Sara Lee Knit Products/Hanesbands) for 7 years giving him 25 years of experience in the EHS field.

He has BS degree in Textile Science from North Carolina State University and recently earned a Master’s Degree in Occupational Health and Safety from Columbia Southern University.  He has been involved with many other activities/roles including Lean Manufacturing Leader, WCOM, Production Maintenance Manager, Human Resources Assistant, Training Manager, and Production Supervision during his career.  Van says helping and working with people to get an issue resolved and seeing it though to make our facility a safer place and building a relationship with so many has been what he likes best about his job/career.

On a Personal Note, Van resides in Eden, NC and with his wife Jackie and their 2 dogs and cat. He has 2 children -Josh and Jessica and one grandchild -Rowan, who is his pride and joy. He is also a big NC State fan and enjoys going to football and basketball games to Back the Pack. He was formerly involved in a drag racing with his dad and brother and still enjoys attending races as a spectator and going to concerts with his wife.

Shannon Priester, Environmental Senior Project Manager, ECS Southeast, LLP

Shannon has been at ECS for 19 years in both the Raleigh and Greensboro markets. She has served as the Safety Manager for the SE Environmental team since 2017. She sits on the Corporate Safety Standing Committee and Safety Policy Team.  Shannon is currently pursuing her BS in Occupational Safety and Health with an anticipated graduation of January 2024. One of her future goals is to obtain her CSP.    Shannon says the most important part of her job is helping to promote safety within her company and to provide a safer place for ALL employees to work on a daily basis, not just the staff she’s responsible for providing safety guidance to.

Shannon has three grown children and four grandchildren who are her world.  She also loves sports, particularly the Buffalo Bills and New York Yankees !!

Daniel Maiden, Director of Environmental, Health, and Safety for FabSouth, LLC

Daniel is the Triad Chapter’s President-elect and has been with FabSouth for 7 years and brings a wealth of knowledge to his position, including over 20 plus years in the EHS field. As the EHS Director for FabSouth, he directly manages four facilities and a host of field erection crews for Lyndon, Kinston, and Winston Steel out of Winston Salem, NC. In addition, he is responsible for all aspects of environmental, health and safety for a total of 12 facilities across the United States.

Holding to the highest of standards, his four NC plants recently hit a HUGE milestone of 5 MILLION HOURS WORKED WITH NO LOST TIME over 6 consecutive years. Daniel’s NC facilities have also received 5 consecutive years of GOLD AWARDS from the NCDOL and the AISC. Daniel says he is focused on helping all employees understand the importance of being safe and environmentally conscientious. When asked what he enjoys most about his career, Daniel says it is getting to work with an awesome group of people from many different states.
On a Personal Note
Daniel resides in Winston Salem, NC with his wife Linda and children – Mayson, Matthew, and Madison. In his time away from work Daniel enjoys the outdoors especially golf and of course college football Saturdays. (GO HOKIES)

Greg Cook, PhD, CSP, CHMM, Executive Director, Mid Atlantic Safety Council

Greg assumed duties as the Executive Director of the Mid Atlantic Safety Council (MASC) in 2022. MASC is a regional provider of safety orientation services in North and South Carolina and across the United States.

Greg is a 24 year veteran from the U.S. Navy where he held multiple leadership roles during his service which included Chief Executive Officer, Naval Safety & Environmental Training Center; Chief, Medical Concept Development, U.S Joint Forces Command; and Director of Safety at Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity Mayport Florida. During his last tour of duty, Greg successfully lead Safety & Occupational Health for the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, providing direction and oversight of operational, occupational, and off-duty safety and health programs for the Navy’s largest organizational institution, which includes 125,000+ personnel and consists of more than 120 ships/submarines and 1,110 aircraft.  He developed, resourced, and executed a Safety Management System policy and risk mitigation strategy for 1,800 subordinate organizations.  He procured $4.7 million and completed numerous material solutions, research initiatives and training programs that reduced risk and prevented mishaps.  The amassed efforts produced an unprecedented 39 months of zero occupational class “A” mishaps.  During this time Greg also made others better by enabling two (2) of his team members to earn recognition as Rising Stars of Safety by the National Safety Council (NSC).