A Tribute to Earl Everett

It is with great sadness I announce the passing of a giant among those involved in all aspects of workforce and workplace excellence. You may know him as the person who began the Georgia Safety, Health and Environmental Conference in 1994. You may know him as the person whose support allowed Project Safe Georgia to develop into one of the largest and most effective networking tools available and the only one of its kind in the nation.

You may know him as the original and only Director of Safety Engineering in Georgia's Department of Labor. In that capacity, he was at the helm as Georgia became one of the safest states in which to use an elevator, escalator, pressure vessel, boiler or amusement ride. His Safety Engineering Division is recognized as one of the best and is frequently used to train inspectors from around the world. You may know him as a board member of one of many local, state, national and international associations and organizations. If you were fortunate to have ever met him, you know him as the friendly, smiling person who was always happy to see you and always ready with a quick "yes" when asked for help, assistance or reference. As a supervisor, he was always supportive and counted his employees and their families as his extended family.

Earl Everett was truly a giant among men and lived his life to the fullest, even when faced with adversity and illness. He had been suffering for many months from a lung disease but would never give up those things he loved most. Earl and his wife, Jonnie, left in late July in their motor home for a trip to Salt Lake City. There, he represented the State of Georgia as a board member of the National Association of Government Labor Officials at their annual conference. Last week, on their return trip, his condition began to worsen and he was hospitalized  in Nevada.

Earl Everett passed away on Friday morning, August 14, 2009. Arrangements are incomplete at this time, but I will send another message once they are finalized.

By Jimmy Mize [Jimmy.Mize@dol.state.ga.us]

                    Earl Everett