Major achievements in workplace health and safety here in Oregon deserve recognition, and the biennial Governor's Occupational Safety and Health Conference (GOSH) has added a new feature which will make the recognition process easier for the upcoming 2003 GOSH Conference in March.

Award nomination forms for the 2003 GOSH Conference are now available for downloading from the Oregon OSHA website, www.orosha.org, in the "Conferences" area.

Nominations for awards are open in five areas:

Employers, either private sector or public sector
Small Employer - Thirty employees or under
Medium Employer - 31 to 99 employees
Large Employer - more than 99 employees

Safety Committee Awards, for either private sector or public sector
Small Employer - Thirty employees or under
Medium Employer - 31 to 99 employees
Large Employer - more than 99 employees

Individual Awards
Industrial Hygienist
Individual or Work Team
Health Care Professional
Labor Representative
Safety Professional

Association Award
Recognizes outstanding achievement in enhancing workplace safety and health by an organization.

Lifesaving Award
Recognizes the actions of a person, or persons, whose efforts have saved the lives of people or have demonstrated heroic efforts to save lives while on the job.

"There are a number of people in Oregon who are putting forth leadership and energy to improve workplace safety," says Peter De Luca, administrator of Oregon OSHA. "The GOSH Conference provides a great opportunity to recognize these leaders, and stress that we have workplace safety leaders throughout the state who make it their mission to reduce the number of injured or killed workers."

2001 marked the twelfth consecutive year of decline in the number of workers injured on the job in Oregon, and the number of deaths on the job eligible for workers' compensation dropped to a record low of 34 cases in 2001.

Completed nomination forms must be received by October 18, 2002. Awards will be presented during the 2003 GOSH Conference, scheduled for March 3-6, 2003 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.

The GOSH Conference, presented in odd-numbered years, is a co-production of the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (OR-OSHA) and the American Society of Safety Engineers - Columbia-Willamette Chapter (ASSE).

For additional information about the awards nomination process or the 2003 GOSH Conference, contact the Conferences section of Oregon OSHA, (503) 378-3272 or toll-free (888) 292-5247 Option One.