"When Tragedy Occurs"
By Theresa Nara & Christine Clement

When a tragedy occurs in your life, you are forced to make to make the decision to either let this situation destroy your life or to take the opportunity to learn from that experience to better the world around you. My tragedy happened on a hot, sunny summer day in July 2000. My husband, Brian, a pump operator, was sent to a job site in rural Northeastern Colorado. It was 10:30 in the morning; the sun was bright in the cloudless sky, shining in his face. Suddenly, his boom made contact with the power lines to the east of his setup. Sparks flew and his cabled remote control box, strapped to his chest, made a direct electrical short to his body. Around noon, I was notified that he was killed, mostly likely instantly as 7600 volts ran through his body. At the morgue, his body was almost unrecognizable due to the massive electrical burns.

In one short moment, my husband, my partner, my soul mate was taken from me. My daughters no longer had their father, their friend, their mentor. My grandson (born 15 days later) would never know the man his grandfather was. Yes, our family was devastated. The grief at times was unbearable. But because of the love & compassion given to us by my company and the pumping industry, we were able to put together the pieces of our lives and begin healing.

My daughters and I have decided to take this tragic event to make a difference in the concrete pumping industry. We have adopted every operator as a part of our family to provide for them what we could not do for Brian. Operator safety has become our mission is life; not just electrical safety, but every safety issue out there. We are dedicating ourselves to working with operators, owners, management, and manufacturers to achieve this goal. Working together, we all will be able to decrease the incidence of injuries (non-fatal and fatal), lower insurance costs, increase productivity/profitability, as well as providing a safer place to work. We are very excited to be a part of concretepumping.com, using the technology of the Internet, to reach more operators, giving them all the information and support we possibly can.

We invite operators and their families to contact us here any time and feel free to use the other experts contributing to this extraordinary website.

May God bless. Theresa Nara & Christine Clement

"Be safe - the life you save may be your own"

"Fondest Memories"
By Christine Nara

I remember the four words that made my heart sink, my stomach turn, my breathing shallow, and my world turn into a nightmare. Four words that sent me down the hall screaming, that kept me awake for two days straight, made me pray for hours on end that this all wasn't true, that there was a case of mistaken identity. Those four words were, "There's been an accident".

I remember talking to my dad the night before. I remember him telling me that he had to go to Keensburg. When I asked him where that was, he said, "BFE". I remember him laughing about how he was doing burn outs in his '89 Ford F-250 in the shop that night because someone had spilled gear oil. I remember that weekend; I had my baby shower. How he initiated a cake fight, and it turned into a water fight. How bad it started to rain at the end of the night. How he drove us home securely through the downpour that washed the land clean.

My favorite memory of my dad is when he was offered to make some extra money by taking his '89 Kenworth to Iowa (24-hour drive). I talked to him all night to keep him awake. I read the map for him. Then on the way back he let me drive. I slid into the driver's seat, looking into the mirrors for cars. We were on a desolate part of I-76 in Northeast Colorado. We thought that the rig topped out at 73 mph. He told me I was a natural. Of course I was, it's what I'd been around for 4 years by then. I remember him coming home one night later on that week and telling me that the engine was not governored. So my first experience driving a tractor-trailer rig wide open on I-76 with him as co-pilot (by the way, on that stretch of highway, the speed limit is 80 mph).

My dad taught me a lot. A lot about life, a lot about myself. He taught me how to rebuild an engine and replace my flywheel in my truck. He taught me how to drive a stick. He taught me how to power brake and do burn outs. He taught me how to play quarters, and I'm still proud to this day that I beat him. He taught me what really matters, and it isn't money. He taught me how to be myself as I was a teenager looking for identity. He taught me that if you over come your fears, you'll probably have a really funny story to tell later on. I think what I'll remember my dad for the most is that he taught me respect. To respect myself, to respect my family for their them, including their faults. To respect guns and authority, respect the gas pedal in a '77 Ford F-150 with a 400 under the hood, RV cam, and 4-barrel Edlebrok, and a 1 ton transmission 4 speed. I love that truck. Respect blue-collar workers, as they work twice as hard for their money. Respect everyone's opinion, and then tell everyone yours without shame. To love with all your heart. To do whatever it takes in whatever you do. To hold someone that is crying a little closer, to make someone laugh a little harder.

I miss him everyday. I miss him for me and for my son. My son, Cole, entered this world August 3rd, 15 days after my dad's accident. I promised myself that Cole will know who his grandpa was, what he meant to me, and why we love him as much as we do. I have a strong commitment to the industry to make it safer. Maybe my dad died for a reason, I don't know. But I know that I've lost a lot, but I still have a lot to give.

I thought that with the holidays and all coming up that we might want to review a these two post made long ago, well maybe not that long ago!!!!! Please be safe.

DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS YOUR DAD.AS MUCH AS WE ALL WISH HE WAS HERE WITH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY,HE DIDNT DIE IN VAIN,THIS WEBSITE IS HELPING KEEP PUMP OPERATORS ALL OVER THE WORLD SAFER,I WISH I KNEW HOW MANY PEOPLES LIVES HAVE BEEN SAVED OR ACCIDENTS AVOIDED DUE TO THIS WEBSITE AND THE WORK ITS DONE FOR OUR INDUSTRY.HANG IN THERE DURING THE HOLIDAYS I KNOW THERE TOUGH,BUT YOU HAVE A WORLD FULL OF FRIENDS THAT CARE.TO YOU & YOUR FAMILY HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON.THOUGH ONES LOST MANY WILL BE SAVED THANKS TO YOU. GOD BLESS 

There is always more than work int his life. Someone usually always has someone to go home to.

Years ago a guy I went to school with, went to help a guy change a split rim tire, on his own time not during any work hours. They didn't use the cage and the rim blew off hitting him in the head, killing him.

Since he was not at work there was no workmans comp, insurance, etc. In those days not there where not the amount of lawyers that took cases like this.

Daddy, son, hubby, friend never came home that day.

your father was a good man i knew him well and that tradgedy has kept me from ever doing the same

                                                     bts