McCain employee's daughter turns her safety poster into $1,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C.

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Promoting workplace safety at her dad's workplace – McCain Foods in Florenceville – has earned a 13-year-old Perth-Andover student a trip to the American capital and $1,000.

PHOTO BY CORINNE FITZHERBERT

Meghan Baker holds up the safety-on-the-job poster which bears her first-place contribution on the bottom, right corner.

Meghan Baker, a Grade 8 student at Perth-Andover Middle School, won first place in the sixth annual American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) kids' Safety-on-the-Job poster contest in her age category.

The daughter of Trent and Kim Baker of Perth-Andover originally drew her workplace safety poster for a calendar competition held at McCain Foods in Florenceville. Kim Froats, an ASSE International member at McCains, sponsored Baker's entry to go on to the ASSE contest and everyone was thrilled when they heard it had won.

"I couldn't believe it," Meghan said with a smile. "It was really exciting."

Baker's poster entitled A Pair of Safety Glasses….Priceless, is the first Canadian entry to be named a winner. For her efforts, Baker will receive a cheque for $1,000 as well as a lot of recognition. The winning posters were selected from five age groups aged 5-14 and are featured on the North American Occupational Safety and Health Week (NAOSH) 2008 poster distributed worldwide as part of the May 4-10, 2008 NAOSH Week and May 7 Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day.

In addition to winning cash and being featured on the NAOSH poster, the winners, runners-up and all entrants will be recognized at the NAOSH 08 national kick-off events Monday, May 5, in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Department of Labor and in the U.S. Capitol.

"McCains has been really good and are going to cover the cost of Meghan going to Washington, DC, so she can be there for that event," her mom Kim commented.

Initially, the family planned for just Trent and Meghan to go to Washington but after further thought, decided it would make a great family trip.

"So we're really excited because we're all going to go," Kim said, noting they will take all four of their children and make the 14-hour drive. "It should be quite a trip."

Activities planned include a special two-hour family event and behind-the-scenes tour at the National Gallery of Art and Kim Baker noted there will also be lots of time to explore Washington and visit its most celebrated landmarks.

The ASSE kids' Safety-on-the-Job poster contest is for members' children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, as well as member-sponsored schools and organizations, and is aimed at educating children at an early age on the importance of being safe at work. Winning posters best illustrate workplace safety. Meghan said she wasn't sure how she came up with her design but it says a lot about how much she values safety and her dad. It lists the prices for hard hats, safety glasses and boots and then states, "Daddy coming home to us and in one piece…..priceless!"

The activities in Washington will be attended by ASSE, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) officials and OSHA Alliance members representing more than 134,000 businesses.

When Meghan returns home to Perth-Andover, she has plans to spend at least part of her $1,000 prize on a laptop computer.