Sawmill Safety Awards
John Edgar Rhodes
Sawmill Safety Excellence Awards
Maintaining a safe workplace is a difficult task, especially when it comes to sawmills. That’s why the Southern Forest Products Association created the Sawmill Safety Awards in 2001 to recognize facilities with outstanding safety records.
To honor his leadership and legacy, the award was renamed The John Edgar Rhodes Sawmill Safety Excellence Award in 2022.
The SFPA Safety Awards embody the impact, dedication and legacy of John Edgar Rhodes, one of the lumber industry’s most revered and celebrated leaders. He had a successful career in the forest and paper industry. Before the SPA, he was a personal secretary to Frederick Weyerhaeuser and was well-versed in forest management, newsprint production, and lumber manufacturing. At the Association, he served as secretary-manager from our founding in 1915 until his untimely death in 1923.
Under John’s leadership, the SPA grew into the model trade association in American industry. He was a strong champion for the forest products industry – advocating for proactive forest resource management and standardized grading rules.
SFPA Lumber Manufacturer members are considered for the John Edgar Rhodes Sawmill Safety Excellence Awards based on occupational injuries and illnesses submitted via OSHA Form 300A.
Safety performance is judged by how each mill’s safety record stacks up against facilities with comparable lumber output throughout the year, and awards are presented annually in three divisions:
- Division 1: SFPA member mills that produce 50 million board feet or less annually.
- Division 2: SFPA member facilities that produce 51 to 150 million board feet annually.
- Division 3: SFPA member mills that produce more than 150 million board feet annually.
