Jesse Meldrum is a seasoned safety professional with 28 years of diverse experience... across multiple high-impact industries, including building and heavy civil construction, surface mining, Department of Defense (Army demilitarization projects), and large-scale civil engineering projects such as airports, water and sewer facilities, e-infrastructure, railroads, and major highway construction and reconstruction throughout the western United States. Throughout his career, Jesse has demonstrated a proven track record of leadership in health and safety, driving safety culture across complex and high-risk environments.

For the past 11 years, Jesse has served as the Executive Director of Health and Safety at Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction Co., based in Draper, Utah. Under his leadership, the company has achieved significant safety milestones, including over 7.8 million hours worked without a lost-time incident and more than 1 million hours without a recordable injury in both 2022 and 2024. These accomplishments reflect Jesse’s unwavering commitment to cultivating a safety culture that transcends making safety a core value and an integral part of the company’s operational philosophy.

Jesse has been a key driver in shaping RLW’s safety trends and ensuring that health and safety remain central to the organization’s priorities. His leadership empowers employees at all levels to embrace safety as a shared responsibility, both on and off the job. With a passion for continuous improvement, Jesse is dedicated to creating environments where safety is not just a priority but a fundamental aspect of the workplace culture. It’s a way of life that we live every day!

Jesse has been a member of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) for over 20 years, Jesse has also served as the Chairman of the Utah Highway Safety Committee for the past 3 years. Additionally, he is actively involved in several National AGC and National Safety Council (NSC) committees, where he leverages his expertise to contribute to safety initiatives that have a far-reaching impact on the construction industry.

Jesse remains committed to applying his extensive knowledge and experience to make a lasting impact on safety standards within the construction industry. His leadership continues to inspire others and shape the future of health and safety practices, ensuring that every worker goes home safe at the end of each day.

Jamie Dabbs is currently Vice President, Safety Health and Environmental for TDIndustries.... He attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Safety and Health. He secured an internship with the Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and then he obtained a position working as a Safety manager within a manufacturing plant in Oklahoma City.

Realizing that he wanted to broaden his experience beyond manufacturing, he sought opportunities in construction. He assumed a role with McCarthy Building Companies, a well-established general contractor based in St. Louis, MO, and was introduced to TDIndustries.

Dabbs began his tenure with TDIndustries, a premier mechanical construction firm, in 2008 as Corporate Safety Manager. His career steadily advanced over the next 15 years and, in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he assumed his current role as Vice President of Safety, Health, and Environmental.

Dabbs and his team have overseen major construction and facilities maintenance projects in a variety of industries, including, but not limited to, sports arenas, multi-family and office complexes, data centers, airports, educational institutions, medical and scientific research facilities and manufacturing plants.

Dabbs has grown TDIndustries' Safety Team from three individuals to over 23 experienced Safety professionals. He has pioneered and implemented TDIndustries' best-in-class safety culture by championing the elite firm's Safety Vision of ZERO Harm, a mission-critical priority for the company for 2025 and beyond. ZERO Harm is the pursuit of work that results in zero serious injuries or fatalities (SIFs). Dabbs and his team have achieved this goal and intend to maintain it.

Bob Kunz is the Corporate Safety Director for Dimeo Construction Company, an ENR top 100 Construction Manager At-Risk with offices in Boston – New Haven – Providence.... Kunz has over 30 years of building and civil construction, and surface mining experience. He has held his current position for 15 years. Kunz has assumed several leadership positions in the safety community, including serving as the past chairperson of the AGC Rhode Island safety committee, as the chairperson of the AGC Massachusetts safety committee, as a member of the Board of Directors and AGC America Board of Governors for the AGC Massachusetts, and serving as the steering committee chairperson of Building SAFER in Rhode Island, an OSHA alliance with the RI construction industry. He is a lifelong learner and has identified new ways to strengthen jobsite safety climate and safety leadership and improve worker mental health by implementing innovative training, educational, and assessment tools. He is also dedicated to training the new generation of safety professionals as a member of the America Society of Safety Professionals and as advisory board member for the Construction Safety Sciences degree program at Keene State College.

Eric Simmons is the Corporate Safety Director for Helix Electric, a large national electrical contractor.... Simmons has over 25 years of construction experience and is a licensed master electrician or contractor in 20 states. He is a lifelong learner, with both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Occupational Safety and Health and an MBA with an emphasis in Human Resource Management. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in education. Simmons is also actively engaged in the safety community serving on several local and national safety committees and participating in multiple industry associations, including the American Society of Safety Professionals and the National Fire Protection Association. He is a member of the UL 745, UL 1088, and UL 1363 Standards Technical Panels, the ANSI A14 and ANSI A92 Committees, and the NFPA 70E and NFPA 350 Technical Committees. He is also an advisory board member for the Safety and Health degree program at Texas A & M, Commerce.

Matt joined Banicki in 2015, serving as one of their lead structural superintendents.... Matt has been the lead structural superintendent on at least one bridge or structures intensive project every year he has been with Banicki. Since joining Banicki, Matt has also instrumental in leading their cultural safety change of achieving an Injury Free Environment (IFE). This means all activities can be safely performed in a completely Injury Free Environment if the proper planning, best practices, and safety engineering controls are implemented. Matt has ensured this IFE cultural safety mindset was achieved through detailed job hazard analyses he meticulously detailed and planned with structural foreman and carpentry crews to ensure the expectation of achieving an IFE was 100% bought off by Banicki’s work force. Having worked on unique bridge and complex structural projects with Banicki, Matt is directly responsible for raising the expectation level of Banicki’s safety planning to that of perfection while stressing the importance of developing meaningful relationships with Banicki’s work force.

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This page was last updated on January 16, 2025.