KANNAPOLIS — The North Carolina Department of Labor recognized area employers and employees at the agency’s annual safety awards banquet held on April 9, in Concord at the Cabarrus Country Club.

“North Carolina’s employers and employees show us the true importance of a strong commitment to safety and health each and every day,” Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson said. “As this is my final year as labor commissioner and my last safety awards season, I want to reflect on the great opportunity it has been to meet and recognize the many people across our state that work so hard for these awards and most importantly continue to work to keep their workplaces safe and healthy. North Carolina’s injury and illness rate remains at an historic low. These businesses’ dedication to safety is the reason why North Carolina is one of the safest states in which to work and they deserve this distinguished recognition.”

The awards honor outstanding on-the-job safety achievements of each recipient during 2023. Recipients recognized are located in Concord and surrounding counties.  

Thirteen departments from the city of Kannapolis were honored at the banquet. Parks and recreation won the silver award and environmental services, general services, information technology, planning, signs and streets, city administration, the customer service center, engineering, finance, legal services, the police department and the water treatment plant all won the gold award. 

“The city strives to create safe environments, internally and externally for our employees and anyone who uses our facilities. We are pleased that our efforts continue to be successful,” Director of Communications Annette Privette Keller said.

Dobson provided keynote remarks at the meeting. The event is hosted by the N.C. Safety and Health Council.

The local recipients have met the stringent requirements necessary to receive a safety award. 

Under program rules, companies must have been free of fatal accidents at the site for which the award is given to be eligible. The gold award criteria are based on a DART rate that is at least 50 percent below the statewide rate for its industry. The rate includes cases of days away from work, restricted activity or job transfer. The silver award is based only on cases with days away from work. They are recorded when the worker misses at least one full day of work, not including the day of the injury. The applicant must attain an incidence rate for cases with days away from work that is at least 50 percent below the rate for its industry.

The other silver award winner was Atrium Health, Cabarrus. Here is a list of the gold award recipients: Atrium Health, Infusion Center Administration-Kenilworth; Atrium Health, Mountain Island Urgent Care; Atrium Health, Weight Management-Concord; Atrium Health Primary Care, Ardsley Internal Medicine-Concord; Atrium Health Primary Care, Weddington Internal Medicine and Pediatrics; Cabarrus County, active living-parks; Cabarrus County, information technology services; Cabarrus County, library systems; Cabarrus County, planning and development; HCA Mission, Blue Ridge Medical Center; Rowan Vocational Opportunities Inc.; Atrium Health, Concord; Atrium Health, University City Urgent Care; Atrium Health, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics-Charlotte; Atrium Health, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics-Concord; Atrium Health, Piedmont Cabarrus-Poplar Tent; town of Harrisburg, public works; Atrium Health, Behavioral, Psychiatry and Counseling-Concord; Atrium Health, Behavioral Health, Psychiatric and Psychological services; Atrium Health, Piedmont Orthopedic Specialists-Poplar Tent; Atrium Health Primary Care, Ardsley Internal Medicine-Harrisburg; Chandler Concrete Co., Salisbury Building Supply No. 115; Oldcastle Infrastructure, Concord; Oldcastle Infrastructure, Vander facility; Cabarrus County, tax administration; Oldcastle Infrastructure, Fuquay facility; Oldcastle Infrastructure, Raleigh facility; Cabarrus County, board of elections; Cabarrus County, veterans services; Atrium Health, Carolina Internal Medicine; town of Harrisburg, administration; Cabarrus County, board of commissioners; Cabarrus County, finance department; Atrium Health Primary Care, West Lincoln Family Medicine; Cabarrus County, information technology services; Cabarrus County, fair; Cabarrus County, human resources; Cabarrus County, county manager’s office and public information; and Cabarrus County, register of deeds.