~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2007
USMWF
Humanitarian Award
The
USMWF Humanitarian award recognizes extraordinary humanitarian service and
activism by individuals or groups, including professional and/or volunteer
work conducted primarily for the contributions made for lost workers and
their families. For
dedication in improving regulations, laws and general working conditions.
"Extraordinary Humanitarian Services" are defined as activities
initiated by individuals and/or groups, working alone or in association
with others to the alleviation of human suffering, protection of life
and/or the promotion of heath and safety. Nominees do not have to be in
association with USMWF.
Anyone
that is involved with families of lost workers, safety and health are
aware of the tragedies inflicted by BP; a few of which were on September
2, 2004 and March 23,
2005
/Hazards Magazine. Rarely does big business
worry about the consequences of their actions or lack there of but
occasionally they cross a path that takes them to a dead end.
For BP that dead end was Eva Rowe and Brent Coon two rocks in the
road that wouldn’t budge.
Spencer Maus of
Jase Consulting, Inc. (211
W. Wacker Dr., Suite 1150, Chicago, Illinois 60606) nominated Ms. Rowe and
Mr. Coon for the USMWF Humanitarian Award.
I feel both have made a huge contribution to us all
and by vote they were by far one of the leading teams in advancement, recognition,
and awareness they
have represented the families well. The "Remembering
the Fifteen Bill" will be presented
to legislators on the anniversary of The last BP tragedy (March 23rd) in
Austin TX. This will include the presentation of the first USMWF
Humanitarian Award to Ms. Eva Rowe and Mr. Brent Coon. We will have
further details soon and will post them on the weekly toll blog.
Nomination of Eva Rowe for Humanitarian
Award Application
Nominee:
Eva
Rowe
Nomination
On March 23, 2005, Eva Rowe’s parents, James and Linda
Rowe, were working as subcontractors for J.E. Merit Constructors Inc. at
the BP Chemical Refining plant in Texas City, Texas. On that Good Friday
2005, a terrible and preventable explosion took the lives of Eva’s
parents and the lives of 13 others.
On November 9, 2006, Eva and her attorney announced they had
reached an unprecedented settlement in her lawsuit against BP over the
death of her parents. Unlike other plaintiffs who were only seeking
compensation for themselves, Eva fought for an agreement that included the
release of sealed BP corporate documents that would have been presented
during trial and showed the company’s weak safety record. The
release of those documents should not only aid the government’s
investigation being lead by Carolyn Merritt, chairman of the U.S. Chemical
Safety Board, the federal agency which investigates all major chemical
disasters, but also force the refinery industry to prevent similar
tragedies. The settlement also mandated that at least $30 million in
charitable donations be made to three foundations on behalf of the
victims. Eva established three separate foundations, by giving $100,000 to
each foundation to promote education and training of students seeking
careers in refinery and chemical plant safety and process technology, and
to research new medical treatments for burn victims. The donations are:
-
$12.5
million to the Texas A&M University Mary Kay O’Connor Process
Safety Center, in memory of all 15 people who died in the Texas City
explosion.
-
$12.5
million to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Truman
G. Blocker Adult Burn Unit, in memory of all 15 people who died in the
Texas City explosion. More than 20 victims of the explosion were
treated at this facility.
-
$5
million to The College of the Mainland, in Texas City, for safety and
process technology training for refinery and chemical plant workers,
in memory of all 15 people who died in the Texas City explosion.
-
Also
as part of the settlement, BP is required to match up to $2 million of
every dollar donated by individuals to each of the foundations.
Finally,
Ms. Rowe is helping spearhead the passage of bill in the Texas Legislature
to do everything possible to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring
again. The Eva Bill is an amendment to Section 1, Chapter 411 of the Texas
State Labor Code. Further, with the help of Nicholas Lampson, the U.S.
Congressman from the 22nd District, this important piece of
legislation will be introduced in the 110th United States
Congress.
I
have attached a transcript of the 60 Minutes story which focuses on Ms.
Rowe’s bravery in the face of one the largest petroleum companies in the
world.
Humanitarian
Award Application
Nominee:
Brent
A. Coon
Brent
A. Coon & Associates
3550
Fannin, Beaumont, TX 77701
409-835-2666
Nomination
On November 9, 2006, Mr. Brent A. Coon, representing Eva Rowe in
her lawsuit against BP in the deaths of her parents caused by oil refinery
explosion in Texas City, Texas, on March 23, 2005, announced he had
reached an unprecedented settlement. The settlement included a “first
ever” agreement to release millions of sealed corporate documents that
would have been presented during trial.
The
settlement also mandated that at least $32 million in charitable donations
be made to three foundations on behalf of the victims. Mr. Coon and Ms.
Rowe established the three separate foundations, by giving $100,000 each
to promote education and training of students seeking careers in refinery
and chemical plant safety and process technology, and to research new
medical treatments for burn victims. The donations, for which Mr. Coon
waived all compensation, are:
-
A $12.5 million donation to the Texas A&M University
Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center, in memory of all 15 people
who died in the Texas City explosion. The Center was established in
1995 in memory of Ms. O’Connor who was an engineer killed in a Texas
City refinery explosion. Ms. Rowe selected the O’Connor Center to
help further its work in improving refinery safety.
-
A $12.5 million donation to the University of Texas
Medical Branch at Galveston, Truman G. Blocker Adult Burn Unit, in
memory of all 15 people who died in the Texas City explosion. Victims
of the explosion were treated at this facility.
-
A $5 million donation to The College of the Mainland, in
Texas City, for safety and process technology training for refinery
and chemical plant workers, in memory of all 15 people who died in the
Texas City explosion. Ms. Rowe wanted to promote education and
training of students seeking careers in refinery and chemical plant
safety and process technology.
-
A $1 million donation to The Cancer Center at St.
Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., in memory
of Mr. and Mrs. Rowe, which was their favorite charity.
-
A $1 million donation to support education in Hornbeck,
Louisiana schools in memory of Mrs. Rowe. Eva Rowe attended schools
there and Mrs. Rowe had been a teacher there before she worked at the
BP plant. who died in the Texas City explosion.
-
In addition, BP will match up to $2 million each for any donations made by
individuals during the next six months to either Texas A&M, UTMB
or College of the Mainland programs, a potential $6 million in
additional donations.
Mr.
Coon’s work has assisted in a government investigation into the actions,
or lack of, that caused the explosion, and 15 deaths at the BP Texas City
explosion. This investigation is being lead by Carolyn Merritt, who was
appointed by President Bush to be chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety
Board, the federal agency which investigates all major chemical disasters.
She has partially relied on the documents and findings of Brent Coon &
Associates as part of her investigation.
Mr.
Coon’s hard work and actions, on behalf of Ms. Rowe, received positive,
international, media coverage that reflected a positive light on all
attorneys. 60 Minutes, the Today Show, the Wall Street Journal, the
Houston Chronicle, the Financial Times, The Times of London, the New York
Times and the Associated Press are examples of the positive press received
by Mr Coon as a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas.
At
his own expense, Mr. Coon continues his hard work on behalf of all Texas
citizens, whose lives are dedicated to the important and thriving Texas
oil industry. Mr. Coon is spearheading the passage of bill in the Texas
Legislature to do everything possible to prevent such a tragedy from ever
occurring again. The Eva Bill is an amendment to Section 1, Chapter 411 of
the Texas State Labor Code. Further, with the help of Nicholas Lampson,
the U.S. Congressman from the 22nd District, this important
piece of legislation will be introduced in the 110th United
States Congress.
In
closing, Mr. Coon’s actions and adherence to the ethics and principals
of the Texas State Bar Association and the College of the State Bar of
Texas, demonstrates what can be achieved through diligence, hard work and
holding not only himself, but also the plaintiffs, to a higher standard.
His work proved that long standing precedents can be overturned, that
actions for right can overcome might and that the importance of integrity
in a courtroom and demonstrated that the high standards the Texas Bar
Association and the College of the State Bar of Texas are imperative in
achieving justice.
Respectfully
submitted,
J.
Spencer Maus
JASE
Consulting, Inc.
211
W. Wacker Dr., Suite 1150
Chicago,
IL 60610
312-397-1960
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