Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative employees received a safety honor during the recent Safety/Supervisory Technical Conference held in Springfield.

The award was given to electric cooperatives with outstanding “best accident/illness” safety records for 2009.

The theme of the safety conference was “Put the Spotlight on Safety.”

Attendees heard firsthand from two linemen who were involved in a fall during ice storm recovery work. They also heard from Kristie Cunningham, the wife of a fallen lineman, about her family’s perspective on their tragedy.

Alan Schweighart, Eastern Illini’s Manager of Operations and Engineering (pictured above on the left) accepted the award from AIEC President/CEO N. Duane Noland (pictured above on the right.)