NRMCA Announces Winners of Annual Safety Awards

NRMCA has named Nicholas Vazquez of Glacier Northwest, a CalPortland Company, and Summers-Taylor as the recipients of the 9th Annual Safety Awards. Mr. Vazquez is the division safety manager for Glacier Northwest in Vancouver, WA. Summers-Taylor is headquartered in Johnson City, TN. They were named the 2025 award recipients for tireless work and commitment of safety leadership in the ready mixed concrete industry.

NRMCA’s Annual Safety Award acknowledges the significant contribution that safe work practices give to the growth and success of individuals and individual companies and the ready mixed concrete industry as a whole. The award is presented to an individual and/or company whose actions represent the very highest in the advancement of safety in the ready mixed concrete industry. The award program is generously sponsored by the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau (TMMB).

Mr. Vazquez’s safety journey led him from being a laborer with no industry experience all the way to division safety manager. His tireless work toward designing hazard controls, uniting a 400+-person workforce and leading with earned buy-in stood out among the other nominees. He holds an impressive safety record of inspiring voluntary employee safety practices; instruction in SLAM (Stop, Look, Analyze, Manage) and clean safety audits across all his sites.

Glacier Northwest General Manager of Operations Nicholas Strietzel stated, “Nicholas Vazquez has elevated Glacier NW’s safety program through trusted audits, annual SLAM training with refreshers and a pride-driven culture across 25 sites. His leadership, innovations and mentorship have reduced risks and empowered over 400 employees.”

The Summers-Taylor award submission showcased the company’s Driver Safety Program which aims to be “a safe and reliable method of not only training and retraining, but also a way to safely measure a potential new hire's skill level and safe driving practices.” This program led to the building of The Proving Grounds, a driving course featuring real world scenarios for operators of mixer trucks. Summers-Taylor noted that this real-world training course “has been key to helping us keep our people and the public safer than ever before.”

Mr. Vazquez and Summers-Taylor will be honored at the awards presentation ceremony during NRMCA's ConcreteWorks 2025 in Orlando, FL.

For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.