Sand Spinner Guard

Mike Coffey and Diana Rotkis present Dave Rutz with a certificate and a personalized vest. Dave Rutz and other SEF employees gathered together to try and figure out a way to protect the expensive and fragile sand spinners on all of the State sandtrucks. By using some square tubing, an experienced welder is able to manufacture the “Sand Spinner Guard”. This fairly simple innovation can save thousands of dollars in damage and down-truck time and keeps productivity at a higher level. For this creative and effective innovation, Dave Rutz was awarded the Everyday Idea of the Year Award.

Dimond P Step

Mike Coffey and Steve Potter present Doug Pine with a certificate and a personalized vest for the Commissioner’s 2014 Safety Innovation of the Year Award. Doug designed the “Dimond P Step” which is a simple stool that fits between the tires of a grader and allows an operator or mechanic to safely access the top of the grader or engine compartment. When not in use, it folds up for easy storage.

Fabricated Reversible Plow

Scott Gray and Matt Boron present Shane Horton with a certificate and a personalized vest for the Commissioner’s 2014 Junkyard Dog of the Year Award. Combining great mechanical skills along with the ability to find treasure in a trash pile, Shane was able to design and fabricate a loader mounted reversible plow using only discarded pieces and parts. Due to Shane’s creativeness, he is recognized as one of the 2014 winners.

FAI Compact Snow & Ice Crusher: The YETI

Presenting John Frison with a certificate and a personalized Carhartt jacket for winning the Commissioner’s 2014 Innovation of the Year Award are Clark Klimaschesky, Mike Coffey, and Steve Potter. John was also recognized for the Denali Peak honorable mention award for his strength as a workplace leader and his drive to invent a way to do his job in a more cost-effective and efficient way.