Hood County honored with 2022 Safety Achievement Award

Hood County received an incredible honor during the Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday, July 25, when the county was presented with the Texas Association of Counties’ (TAC) Safety Achievement Award for 2022.

“I was in Galveston last week along with Commissioner (Jack) Wilson here, and people kept coming up to both of us and telling us that Hood County won the Safety Achievement Award for 2022, and what a huge deal that was,” Hood County Judge Ron Massingill said during the meeting. “I mean, the other counties were really jealous of us.”

“It is a big deal,” Isaac Garcia, risk control consultant with the TAC said. “Of the entire state, 254 counties, less than 15% of the counties this year were able to meet the criteria for an award. We really appreciate all the efforts that Hood County is putting forth in safety — and not only in safety, but property measures as well — to make sure we're keeping our county in good condition.”

Garcia added that the award is twofold: Keeping the employees safe while also keeping losses down, which means more money is put into the taxpayers’ pockets.

"We really appreciate all the efforts that y'all are putting forth,” he said. “It's really a county-wide award. Melissa (Welborn) and her office really put forth a lot of effort towards this award, but without support from the Commissioners Court and without participation from every employee in the county, we would have a hard time getting this award. We really appreciate all your support, so congratulations.”

Melissa Welborn, HR director, also commended the safety committee for stressing to the employees and supervisors about the importance of safety.

"Hood County has had some catastrophic events in the past,” she said. “I believe we're past all of that and our record is proven clean, so every year hopefully we'll continue to get these awards, but again like Isaac said, we appreciate the court and the support that you give all of us.”