Beadle County highway department receives safety awards at state convention

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RAPID CITY – Beadle County Highway Superintendent Merl Hanson was presented with the Jim Fjerestad Memorial Safety Leadership Award recently at the 2017 South Dakota Association of County Commissioners and County Officials Convention in Rapid City.
The award, sponsored by the South Dakota Municipal League Workers’ Compensation Fund and the South Dakota Public Assurance Alliance, is presented to an individual for outstanding leadership in guiding their entity’s safety and loss control program.
“Merl goes the extra mile to assure the safety of all employees,” said Nancy Willard, Beadle County Highway Department office administrator.
“He welcomes ideas and encourages employees to come up with ideas to help keep their work place safe,” she said.

Hanson’s highway department crew was the state winner of the 2016 “You Show Us Contest” for designing a new sign trailer. Their trailer idea and design makes moving, hauling and storing road signs easier, safer and more efficient for everyone.
Some of Hanson’s other accomplishments include ensuring necessary repairs and maintenance work is done on the equipment to provide a safe working environment, making the safety training of new employees a priority, being available to listen to all safety concerns of employees and holding a safety meeting every month that all the employees attend. He encourages comments and suggestions during these meetings.
Hanson has been highway superintendent in Beadle County since July 2012 after serving as the Hamlin County highway superintendent for eight years.
He began his career in June 1988 as a blade operator for Clark County. He is currently the South Dakota state director for the National Association of County Road Engineers.
The Jim Fjerestad Memorial Safety Leadership Award was first presented in 2011 to Jim Fjerestad, an employee for the city of Brandon.
He was not only instrumental in establishing a safety and loss control program for Brandon, but he also reached out to neighboring communities and invited their employees to attend his monthly safety meetings. Fjerestad passed away in 2012.