Kennedy Valve was proud to have 59 team members and their families participate in the 2018 Walk a Mile in my Shoes suicide prevention and awareness event on May 5.
It was a beautiful day for a walk. Over 2,000 people came out to show their support for this critical issue which is more common than you think and more preventable than you know.
Thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s event!
Anaco recently hosted the annual McWane Group Safety Managers’ Conference at their manufacturing facility in Corona, California. Ross Boeker is the Group Safety Director (GSD) for this group which includes, AB&I, Anaco, Tyler Coupling, Bibby Ste Croix, Bibby LaPerle and Amerex. This annual meeting is a great opportunity for GSDs to get together with their entire team of safety managers to share ideas and best practices with each other and discuss current issues and challenges.
This year’s agenda included a 1st quarter safety plan review, a best practice sharing WebEx with Kennedy Valve, an HR segment led by Joe Maziarz (Group HR Director) and Kevin McCarthy (VP HR), and a group tour of the Fender Guitar factory in Corona, California. The team was treated to an in-depth tour of the facility which manufactures the famous Fender Stratocaster and Fender Telecaster guitars, as well as the Fender Precision Bass & Fender Jazz Bass. After the tour, the team met with the Fender safety team to share ideas and best practices. Anaco safety manager Larry Fuscher offered and is looking forward to hosting the Fender safety team for a reciprocal visit in the near future.
Pictured L-R: Rex Blevins (Senior GSD), Ross Boeker (GSD), Larry Fuscher (Anaco Safety Manager), Jonathan Desbiens (BBL Safety Manager), TJ Pinkston (ABI Safety Manager), Nathan Gentges (Tyler Coupling Safety Manager), Francis Dorval (Bibby Ste Croix Safety Manager), Robert Fisher (Amerex Safety Manager)
At the recent valve & hydrant annual sales meeting (Clow, Kennedy, Kennedy PIV and M&H), they held an inspiring teambuilding event. They partnered with Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) to build wheelchairs. Because the group was so large, they were able to build nine wheelchairs that will be donated for use by veterans in the Phoenix, Arizona community.
As a part of the event, each group created a poster expressing their gratitude to the veterans for their service to our country. It was an amazing experience since the team has quite a few veterans of their own. It was the first time they’ve done something like this and they plan to make it a tradition.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 McWane EHS Awards!
Outstanding Environmental Performance-Fabrication: Amerex (Trussville, AL)
Outstanding Environmental Performance-Foundry: Kennedy Valve (Elmira, NY)
Outstanding Environmental Progress-Fabrication: Anaco and Clow Valve Corona (Corona, CA)
Outstanding Environmental Progress-Foundry: Bibby-Ste-Croix
Outstanding Health & Safety Performance: Mcwane Ductile New Jersey (Phillipsburg, NJ)
Quartile Club: (replaced the Most Improved RIR-Fabrication and Most Improved RIR-Foundry Awards): M & H Valve Company, Tyler Union, Clow Valve McWane Ductile New Jersey (Phillipsburg, NJ)
EHS Excellence (Screaming Eagle): Kennedy Valve (Elmira, NY)
Congratulations to this year’s winners!
Tyler Union team member Mark Vess recently took his family on a vacation to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida to celebrate his wife Ashley’s birthday. They made it a game to see how many McWane products they could spot while there. As you can see, there were lots to see.
Aleah and Allison Vess (top left L-R) spotted a Tyler Union Flange 90 Bend and a Clow Valve hydrant at Hollywood Studios. Aleah Vess (top right) found a Tyler Union Flange Tee and a Kennedy Valve hydrant at Epcot. Alec Vess (bottom left) found a Clow hydrant with a Walt Disney logo on it at the Art of Animation Disney Resort and Mark (bottom right) located a similar Clow hydrant in the Magic Kingdom.
Mark said, “It was good to see so many McWane products at each of the parks.”
Mark joined Tyler Union in Anniston, Alabama in 2004 and is a Technical Sales Support Specialist in the Engineering Department. He can now add record holding McWane product spotter in one location to his resume.
The Environmental Management Council of Chemung County was raising money to send a student to the Department of Environmental Conservation Summer Camp, but thanks to Kennedy Valve they will have enough money to send not one, but two students. The students will have the opportunity to attend camp at one of the four camps located across the state of New York.
Screaming Eagle
We are proud to announce the winners of the 2014 McWane EHS Awards which recognize McWane facilities with the best environmental, health and safety performance:
Congratulations to this year’s winners!
Reeve Ammerman isn’t exactly a McWane team member, but his volunteer work has definitely earned him some recognition.
Reeve Ammerman / Photo courtesy of Jennifer Kingsley of the Star-Gazette (http://stargaz.tt/1tyZ8U0)
85-year-old Ammerman is from Village of Horseheads, a small village in the town of Horseheads, New York. Ammerman has painted and revamped 105 fire hydrants all over the village since July of 2013 and plans to paint all 320 of them before he calls it quits. And guess where most, if not all, of the hydrants are from – that’s right, Kennedy Valve Company in Elmira, New York!
Although Ammerman doesn’t do his good deeds for the accolades, he has received recognition and two replica fire hydrants from officials at Kennedy Valve along with receiving the Horseheads Kiwanis Good Guy award.
We are grateful that our Kennedy Valve hydrants are safe features in the communities that they are located, but we are even more grateful for people like Reeve. Thank you, Reeve, for helping to keep our fire hydrants looking up to par and for making a difference in your community!
Check out the full article from the Star-Gazette to read the rest of this amazing story!
On Thursday, October 16, 2014, New York Congressman Tom Reed paid a visit to Kennedy Valve Company in Elmira, New York.
While visiting, Congressman Reed toured the facility and answered questions on various issues from Kennedy Valve team members in a Town Hall format.
We are so honored that he took time out of his busy schedule to drop by for a visit and discuss hot topics with Kennedy Valve team members!
At noon on Friday, August 1, 2014, a dedication ceremony took place in the main lobby of the Gannett-Tripp Library in Elmira, New York. Elmira College unveiled how they made use of the $80,000 gift from Kennedy Valve Company in Elmira, and the McWane Foundation in Birmingham, Alabama – through the renovation of two now state-of-the-art classrooms.
After the arrival of college President Ronald O. Champagne two years ago, he realized that classroom upgrades needed to be set forth after college trustees were shown photographs of classrooms taken recently and in the 1920s and trustees could not tell the difference.
“Times change. We are preparing students now for jobs that don’t even exist and that is why we need these classrooms,” Champagne said.
Some of the features included in the classroom renovations are lecterns with multimedia control panel, “idea” boards, ceiling conference microphones and amplifiers, and multimedia cabling and data ports – all of which Champagne noted were nonexistent when he attended college in 1964.
On hand to represent Kennedy Valve was Vice President and General Manager Arne Feyling, and newly-appointed Assistant General Manger Jack McPike.
“It is important for us to have a strong and vibrant city. It makes it easier to attract good people and operate in the community. That is why we believe in having partnerships like this,” Feyling said. “We don’t just want to be a factory at the edge of town, we want to be a good neighbor, good business, employer of choice and an integral part of the community.”
Though manufacturing is a major part of the company, Kennedy Valve is about so much more. We are very proud to see them making such a great impact on Elmira College and the surrounding community!
For the full article, please see the Star-Gazette’s article.
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