Every year, to mark the anniversary of the March 18, 1937 Texas School Explosion, I salute someone who demonstrates an extraordinary sense of responsibility and commitment to the safety of children and their communities.
The Healthy Kids Hero Award is an annual opportunity to remember the 1937 TX tragedy and to inspire others to take leadership for public safety, especially where gas pipelines, compressor stations, and other hazardous fossil fuel projects contaminate air and drinking water and put schools, families, and whole communities at risk for deadly explosions and fires. (Heroes 2004 - 2019)
Carl Weimer, Executive Director of the Pipeline Safety Trust (PST), is the 2020 Hero.
Over his long career Weimer has earned multiple awards from colleagues, community leaders, government officials, and other admirers including the 2015 White House for being the most effective advocate for improving the safety of nation’s vast network of gas and oil pipelines.
Courage, Credibility, Community
As important as all his accolades are, Weimer deserves the highest recognition and gratitude of the public and local governments for legitimizing the role of communities in the regulatory process. And, in his role as public interest watchdog, he achieves a high level of trust and credibility as he continuously champions a high standard for transparency in the pipeline industry and the regulatory agencies.
One reason for Weimer’s effectiveness is his remarkable ability to humanize the deadly consequences of the pipeline industry’s ugly history, especially its repeated incidents of criminal negligence and poor management. He firmly believes that citizens should be able to trust that their government is pro-actively working to prevent pipeline hazards.
