On September 28, the Utility Safety & Ops Leadership Network held its annual awards ceremony at the iP Utility Safety Conference & Expo in Louisville, Ky. During the event, USOLN board members presented the Carolyn Alkire Safety Advocate Award to David McPeak, CET, CHST, CSP, CSSM, CUSP.

McPeak is director of corporate safety programs at Pike Enterprises LLC, as well as director of Stay Safe Solutions LLC.

An Active Safety Advocate
The Carolyn Alkire Safety Advocate Award honors Alkire, a 40-year employee of San Diego Gas & Electric who passed away July 11, 2008. She was active in a variety of industry groups including iP safety conferences, IUOTA, the Western Underground Committee and the Institute for Safety in Powerline Construction.

A True Safety Advocate
The Carolyn Alkire Safety Advocate Award honors Carolyn Alkire, a 40-year employee of San Diego Gas & Electric. McPeak, too, is an incredibly active safety advocate, which heavily factored into the USOLN’s decision to present him with the Carolyn Alkire Safety Advocate Award. “As if serving as Pike’s director of corporate safety programs weren’t enough, David also manages to be a major contributor to the Incident Prevention editorial advisory board,” Housh said. “This volunteer position requires extensive utility industry safety and operations knowledge and untold hours of review and collaboration with editorial board members. David also serves on the USOLN board and has been instrumental in the advancement of the FRONTLINE Utility Leadership program since its inception. I appreciate all he has done on behalf of our mission to advance safety in the utility industry.”

A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in information systems and operations management, McPeak has been an employee of Pike Enterprises since 2005. In addition to his work with Pike, Incident Prevention and the USOLN, he currently serves as a member of the North Carolina Apprenticeship Council and is a past chairman of Task Team One of the OSHA ET&D Partnership. McPeak has extensive experience in safety and training, has earned multiple industry certifications – including the Certified Safety Professional and Certified Utility Safety Professional designations – and has also received numerous awards, including being recognized by the National Safety Council as a Rising Star of Safety.

Upon receiving the Carolyn Alkire Safety Advocate Award, McPeak said he was both humbled by the gesture and extremely honored to be involved with the USOLN. He also thanked his employer for the culture it has built over the years. “While I am passionate about safety, this award is more reflective of the Pike organization,” McPeak said. “Our CEO, Eric Pike, believes that you cannot out-produce safety, and the expectation every day for every employee is professionalism defined as safe, quality and productive work. His belief filters into every level of the organization, and it is my privilege to work for a company that ‘gets’ and promotes safety. Personally, I cannot think of anything more professionally rewarding than helping to prevent injuries and playing a role in the professional development of others.”

When he’s not working, McPeak enjoys spending time with his wife and son, and he recently began volunteering as a Cub Scouts den leader. His family loves sports, including golf, paddleboarding, swimming, basketball and soccer, and they are active members of their church. McPeak and his son also share a passion for anything involving Legos.