Brent Scarbrough & Company, Inc., located in Fayetteville, has been in business for nearly 20 years and has always valued the importance of safety. While employing more than 170 employees, Brent Scarbrough & Company, Inc. is committed to put safety and the welfare of its employees first and foremost every day.

"With a constant focus on a positive safety culture in our company and not just a safety program we have been able to insure a safe workplace not only for the employees of our company but all workers on our job sites," said Brent Scarbrough, the company's president.

The GUCA Hard Hat Safety Award is composed of four categories to encourage members to get involved with exemplary safety programs and the GUCA members that raise safety standards for others. Instead of having one general category, GUCA split the nominees into two groups based on type of work: plant and pipeline contracting. In turn, these two categories were divided by whether or not the man-hours for the company exceeded or stayed below 100,000 hours. By creating these different categories, GUCA was able to distinguish four companies who excel in their safety program and the application of this program among all of its workers.

The category winners for the 2004 GUCA Hard Hat Safety Award are as follows: 0-100,000 Man-Hours Plant Contractor: Holt & Mahone Constructors, Inc.; 100,000+ Man-Hours Plant Contractor: Western Summit Constructors, Inc.; 0-100,000 Man-Hours Pipeline Contractor: Turpin, Inc. and 100,000+ Man-Hours Pipeline Contractor: Brent Scarbrough & Company, Inc.

"Category winners are chosen on a number of judging criteria including written safety program, number of employees who have received OSHA training, such as, Competent Person Excavation, Confined Space Entry, and First Aid/Blood Borne Pathogen Training," noted Scott Brumbelow, GUCA Assistant Executive Director. Category winners value the importance of becoming a Certified Drug Free Workplace and the positive impact this certification has on their job sites.

The association is proud of all the members that raise the bar for safety and help set the standard for the utility construction industry. GUCA members are exposed to hazards each and every day, and we must continue to reward our members that go beyond what is expected by OSHA.

Georgia Utility Contractors Association, Inc. is a nonprofit state trade association in metro Atlanta. Representing more than 500 utility contractors and affiliated firms statewide, GUCA members provide the materials and workforce to build and maintain the state's network of water, sewer, gas, telecommunications and other utility systems. For more information about GUCA, visit www.guca.com .