Valard takes CSEA award on a journey celebrating safety culture
When Valard Construction received the award for Canada’s Safest Utilities and Electrical Employer at the 2025 Canadian Safety Excellence Awards last month, the company decided the trophy shouldn’t gather dust in a boardroom. Instead, Valard launched a cross-country “Trophy Field Tour,” sending the award on a journey to job sites that will see it travel across Canada and south of the border, turning a symbol of achievement into a living celebration of frontline safety culture.
“We want to reflect that the award is the efforts that they do every single day,” says Shilo Neveu, Valard’s executive vice president of health, safety & environment. “I’m merely the dude that just picked up the trophy… that award is from the field. They’re the people that generate those stats, which also means they’re living the stats. They’re the ones exposed to serious hazards every day.”
(Shilo Neveau accepting the award at the CSEAs in Toronto on October 9, 2025)
From boardroom to backroads: The trophy’s journey
The idea for the tour sprang up spontaneously at the awards banquet. Neveu handed the trophy to construction supervisor Mike Heeringa, encouraging him to take it straight to the field. “I handed it to him and said, ‘Take it to the field. You’re going to the field, I know that’s where you’re going,’” Neveu recalls.
(Mike Heeringa holding the award at the CSEAs in Toronto on October 9, 2025)
Heeringa, who focuses on civil construction in the Greater Toronto Area, felt the weight of the honour. “I was the only one at the operational field level [invited to the ceremony], so that was a real big honor,” he says. “When our name got called, it was like being a celebrity,” recalls Heeringa, echoing sentiments from others who attended the gala event.
The trophy’s journey began in Toronto and quickly headed north. “It’s going into Northern Ontario. We have a large project in Wawa, then more work out in Thunder Bay, then it’s going to make its way over to Manitoba,” Neveu explains. The tour isn’t a whirlwind; it’s a deliberate effort to reach every site and give every worker a chance to hold the trophy and reflect on their contribution. “Everyone has an opportunity to hold it, to look at it, to reflect on what they did to help to get this award,” he says.
Pride on the front lines
For construction supervisor Tanner Cardiff, the trophy’s visit is a powerful morale boost. “When word came out that Valard was awarded the honor, it showed me just the true testament to the backbone of our safety culture and leadership here at Valard,” Cardiff says. “It gives them a backing that what they’re doing is the right thing. Because they now see that they are doing a great job in their day-to-day work. And this is just another confirmation that their efforts are noted.”
Cardiff’s crews face daily risks, from high voltage lines and heavy equipment to working from heights and falling objects. “Several different factors have to be noted prior to work even commencing so we can address them and maintain them,” he says. The award, he believes, is only possible because of the immense pride and dedication Valard employees have for their work and safety.
(Tanner Cardiff and Jamie Culliton posing with the award)
Operations manager Jamie Culliton is one of the people responsible for making sure the trophy hits several of the Ontario job sites. “I picked it up in Toronto last week, brought it to our Hanover location where we grabbed some photos with our crew doing some training in the training facility here. Then with our fleet department, it went down to Windsor, got its picture taken with the crews working out of the Windsor area. And it is on its way to Sudbury at the moment. Next, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, and then Thunder Bay,” Culliton reports.
Culliton sees the tour as a way to reinforce the company’s safety-first mindset. “We value safety as a priority here at Valard and we want to continue with that mindset and the way that we operate here. If you can’t do it safely, don’t do it,” he says. He believes the tour will have a lasting impact: “It’ll be a positive impact and a morale boost for our crews, showing that not just the guys in the field, but the management stands behind the safety. We’re the ones pushing and promoting it as well, and we’re all in it together.”
More than a moment
For Heeringa, the trophy’s presence at the job site brings the company’s safety culture full circle. “The culture is only developed with time… We’ve been able to develop the safety program around long-term dedicated employees. And it shows—the proof’s in the pudding,” he says.
Neveu sums up the tour’s spirit: “This isn’t the pinnacle of our journey. This is just a footnote in our journey that we do every single day. And it’s a reflection of the good work that they are doing.”
As the trophy continues its journey, Valard’s message is clear: safety is a team effort, and every worker’s contribution matters. The award is not just a symbol—it’s a celebration in motion.
