The National Safety Council (NSC) presented PSA Insurance & Financial Services (PSA) Senior Safety Consultant Steve Pomponi with the Distinguished Service to Safety Award at the September 25 Opening Session of the NSC Congress & Expo in Indianapolis.
First presented in 1942 to recognize individuals and companies who helped reduce occupational injuries during World War II, the Distinguished Service to Safety Award recognizes outstanding service and contributions to the field of safety. It is one of the most prestigious awards given to individuals by the National Safety Council.
“Our award winners recognize that safety is a journey rather than a destination,” Deborah A.P. Hersman, President and CEO of the National Safety Council said. “These individuals and organizations constantly ask, ‘What more can we do?’ We are proud to honor the winners and to recognize all the outstanding nominees that share the Council’s goal of eliminating preventable deaths and injuries in our lifetime.”
Pomponi was one of just five people in the country recognized with this award. As a top-performing safety professional with PSA Insurance & Financial Services, he employs a five-step proven approach to proactively address risks and help control costs. Over the course of his 27-year career, Pomponi has reduced losses, solved stubborn injury trends and prevented injuries for more than 1,000 companies. He has provided safety training to at least 10,000 front-line employees and 2,500 managers. As a result of his efforts, from 2014 to 2017 one client saw a 90% reduction in claims frequency and a 99% reduction in severity of claims. Other notable examples include a 72% reduction of workers’ compensation costs and an 83% reduction of auto insurance costs totaling more than $4 million in savings for one client alone.
Outside of work, Pomponi is a member of the Maryland-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (MD-1 DMAT), a rapid-response service to supplement local medical care during a disaster or any event that overwhelms a region’s healthcare infrastructure. Pomponi has been deployed to provide safety training for first responders during Hurricane Sandy, the Louisiana floods, the Presidential State of the Union and Inauguration. To date he has provided safety training to more than 1,500 first responders during his DMAT deployments.
Pomponi has also spent the past 14 years volunteering as an EMT/IV tech. A board member of the Silver Spring Volunteer Fire Department, Steve also established and now leads the department’s Life Safety Unit. Under his leadership, the LSU reached a milestone of installing 1,100 smoke/carbon monoxide detectors in neighborhood homes, including homes with children. In his years as an active EMT, he has saved numerous lives and impacted many individuals, including delivering a baby on the side of the road! Steve has been training new EMT’s in the past 14 years on how to effectively treat patients, while maintaining a high level of situation awareness for their own and the entire crew’s safety.
A resident of Silver Spring, MD, Pomponi holds a master’s degree in Safety Engineering from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree in Occupational Safety and Hygiene from Millersville University. He also holds the nationally accredited and internationally recognized Certified Safety Professional (CSP) designation awarded by the Board of Certified Safety professionals (BCSP).
Of receiving such a significant honor, Pomponi says, “I’m incredibly humbled by this recognition from the leading authority in the safety field for simply following my passion. From helping companies establish and maintain a safe workplace to ensuring that individuals are using smoke detectors in their homes, I take immense satisfaction in knowing my efforts have minimized avoidable, potentially life-threatening accidents while also saving businesses time and money.”
Visit www.nsc.org/awards for additional information about the National Safety Council Awards. To learn more about PSA Insurance & Financial Services, visit www.psafinancial.com. Please direct all media inquiries to Andrea Lynn at 410-420-2001 or by email at andrea.lynn@fallstongroup.com.
In business to protect and grow the assets of our clients since 1928, PSA is one of the mid-Atlantic’s leading independent firms specializing in risk management, personal insurance and employee benefits. With vast knowledge, experience and resources, PSA delivers national caliber capabilities to clients with the attention of a local partner.
About the National Safety Council
The National Safety Council is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to eliminate preventable deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy. Founded in 1913 and chartered by Congress, NSC advances this mission by partnering with businesses, government agencies, elected officials and the public in areas where we can make the most impact.
