Q & A with Jamie Caron

The health and safety of workers, whether in construction or general industry, has never been as important as it is today. While advances in technology and engineering have made our jobs easier, they also produce many hazards. No one understands this better than Jamie Caron, the Corporate Health and Safety Officer for all five of the Empire Group companies, including Elk Environmental Services (Elk). He has more than 15 years of experience in lab, field and construction safety issues and is an authorized OSHA Outreach Trainer. Jamie received his degree in Occupational Health and Safety from Columbia Southern University, and is currently pursuing his Certified Safety Professional certification.

Here, Jamie answers several questions pertaining to his career and personal interests.

What is your role at Elk Environmental Services?

Technically, my role is defined as overseeing the health and safety of Elk and its employees, which will be achieved by the creation and implementation of policies, jobsite inspections, and training. I also perform safety training and consulting for our clients at various locations. Or, as I have been reminded, I am the “safety guy.”

What got you interested in environmental health and safety as a career?

I was very fortunate to have someone give me a break and offer me a chance to work in safety. I was able to take that opportunity and create a safety career, which I am still working on and learning every day. I enjoy having the opportunity to help people.

What excites you the most about your industry right now?

For me, it is always about change. What new changes have been made in helping keep our employees safe, to educate them about safety, and how to make their jobs easier. Thus, I am a safety nerd.

What concerns you the most about your industry right now?

Honestly, it is when safety gets ignored by the employer or employee. It happens too often, and there really is no excuse.

What is the most important thing we should know about you?

Well…if you ask my daughters and wife, they will tell you that I talk too much and that I am loud and eat too much. I like to help people; I genuinely enjoy trying to help people and to try and teach that to my kids and anyone that will listen.

Name the most impactful lesson you have learned from failure.

You are going to fail again. So get up and keep trying because, eventually, as long as you keep trying and working at it, you will succeed. 

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Being a husband and father.

Name a tool you use for work that you cannot live without?

Sadly, my phone.

What is your favorite hobby and why?

Video games. I have been playing since I was a wee little one. One of my best friends told my wife at our wedding, “I hope you like video games!”  She doesn’t.

What book has made the biggest impact on your life and why?

I like fantasy and science fiction. On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony is the first in a series where certain people inherit jobs in the afterlife: Death, Time, Fate, War, Good, and Evil. This book was about Death being a job. I read this book (and then the entire series) when I was young and it truly helped me question and define some of my beliefs. I was raised Catholic and these books gave me AWESOME questions to frustrate my Catholic teachers (nuns) at school. Fun times. 

BONUS QUESTION: What do you consider to be the perfect day?

Wake up and actually feel refreshed! I would have a wonderful breakfast with my wife and daughters….and then they leave me alone for the day (they are happy about doing this). I then sit on my couch and play video games, watch the Eagles beat the Cowboys, eat food that is not good for me, and maybe take a small nap. Then, my wife and daughters come home and we eat dinner together. I fall asleep knowing everyone is happy. Or, I win the lottery and never have to worry about money again. Either one will do.