About the Knox County Safety Council
Knox County Safety Council is a program of the Ohio BWC, and is facilitated by the Knox County Chamber of Commerce.
What is the Knox County Safety Council?
Each Ohio Safety Council has the same goal: to increase safety awareness. But developing and maintaining a safe workplace is no easy task. That's why it must be a combined effort of local business and the community. The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Division of Safety and Hygiene sponsors more than 70 Safety Councils across the state; organized through chambers of commerce, trade and manufacturing associations, and other safety-minded organizations. These Safety Councils provide their local communities with quality programs addressing occupational safety and health, workers' compensation, risk management education and information. They inform participants about new techniques, products and services, and provide a thorough knowledge of these services. The Knox County Chamber of Commerce established a local program in the 1970's.
What's Required of Safety Council Members?
In short, attendance at 10 monthly meetings and submitting semi-annual reports. Your local Safety Council receives funds from the BWC to defray operating expenses and provide speakers. The amount received from the BWC is directly related to attendance and reporting. You will be asked to sign in at every meeting.
Who can Join?
The program is open to any Knox County business.
How Can Our Business Join?
Becoming a member is simple. To join complete an application and mail or fax it to the Chamber. Application can be found under the forms tab.
Is there a Fee to Join?
There is no fee to join and no annual fees. The only cost to you is a $13 per person, per meeting, admin fee to cover the cost of the meeting and breakfast.
Are there Incentives to Join?
Employers can earn a 2% discount on their annual premiums for meeting certain eligibility requirements and a two percent performance bonus for reducing either frequency or severity of on-the-job injuries. The discount and bonus are paid in the form of a rebate check presented at the October Safety Council meeting. Contact the Chamber office for complete details about this opportunity and learn about the requirements for the rebate.
Each year the Safety Council holds annual awards. These awards are presented as a result of the semi-annual reports that are submitted to the Ohio BWC in January and July. The 3 separate awards that can be earned include: the Special Award, presented to each company that accumulates at least 500,000 hours and at least 6 months without a lost-time injury or illness; the Achievement Award, presented to each company that works the entire year without lost time due to injury or illness; and the Group Award, presented to the company with the lowest incident rate in each group. For this award, the groups are divided by manufacturing with less than 100 employees, manufacturing with more than 100 employees; construction, healthcare, service industries, and government.
About the Committee!
The Knox County Safety Council steering committee meets the first Tuesday of every month at 9:00am at Mid-Ohio Corporate Care. These volunteers plan and organize each monthly educational module.
This meeting is open to committee members only.
Interested in joining the committee? Contact the Chamber of Commerce at (740) 393-1111, or send an e-mail to Chamber@KnoxChamber.com.
Emily Marth, Chair, Knox County Commissioners
Brittany Murphy,Vice Chair, Knox Community Hospital
Donna Baker, Secretary, Shannon Staffing
Ken Belcher, Ohio BWC
Debbie Ruggles, Knox County Chamber of Commerce
Cliff Ruggles, Cliff's High Perfromance
Cyndi Wyatt, The Ohio Eastern Star Home
Gary Rohler, Ariel Corporation
Katelyn Smith, Modern Builders
Benjamin Moore, Ohio BWC
Our Monthly Meeting
Meetings have been cancelled until further notice, we will update you as information becomes available.
Monthly Meetings are held at:
The Glenn A. Gallagher Centre 1451 Gambier Rd. Mount Vernon, OH 43050