Woodvale employee receives top health and safety award

A STAFF member at a well-known Omagh construction firm has received a top honour for his contribution to health and safety in the workplace during the last year.

Gary Gardner, Woodvale Construction’s Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) manager, has been given the John Gordon ‘Safety Person of the Year’ Award by the Northern Ireland Safety Group.

In 2022, the Northern Ireland Safety Group received their largest ever number of nominations in their 50-year history. The award, sponsored by SAC, recognises the important contributions that individuals make towards safety, health, wellbeing and incident prevention.

Presenting the award, the judges noted, “Gary Gardner’s knowledge sharing and a positive influence on the next generation as a major accomplishment.”

Woodvale Construction’s managing director, Robert Ewing, said, “This is a great achievement for Gary personally and also for the Company as it demonstrates the proactive and forward-thinking approach, which we prioritise to protect our most vital resources – our employees.”

The award was presented to Mr Gardner by Bill McAllister, from sponsors the Safety Advice Centre (SAC), at the NI Safety Group’s annual award ceremony.