SAN ANTONIO—At today’s RIMS 2018 Annual Conference & Exhibition Awards Luncheon, the risk management society kicked off the week by issuing its top marks of distinction for leadership and achievement in the industry.
Ward Ching, managing director of the western region at Aon Global Risk Consulting, received RIMS’ most prestigious honor, the Harry and Dorothy Goodell Award. Named after RIMS’ first president, the award recognizes outstanding service and achievement in furthering the goals of the society and the discipline of risk management. “This year’s winner is an outside of the box thinker, customer focused, and always willing to put others before himself,” said RIMS President Robert Cartwright, Jr. “He created a brand new culture of safety for Safeway, has saved companies billions of dollars and is creating risk management programs for universities across the country.”
This year’s inductee to the Risk Management Hall of Fame is Berry Griffin, former RIMS president from 1979.
“RIMS stands as the premier risk management association in the world and has grown its network to over 10,000 professionals because of individuals like Berry Griffin, Jr.,” said RIMS CEO Mary Roth. “Dedicated, passionate and genuinely invested in demonstrating the value of risk management, Berry’s contributions continue to drive conversation and evolve risk practices. It is an honor to induct this longstanding RIMS leader into the Risk Management Hall of Fame.”
Celebrating the impact of an involved membership both past and future, the RIMS Rising Star Awards went to Lindsey Harris, risk manager at Dollar Tree Stores, and Jaci Mennenga, manager of corporate risk management at COUNTRY Financial. Harris and Mennenga were honored for demonstrating exceptional initiative, volunteerism, professional development, achievement and leadership potential.
Among those recognized for exceptionalism on a chapter level, Randy Jouben, risk manager at Fairfax County Government and active member of RIMS Potomac Chapter, received the Ron Judd “Heart of RIMS” Award. The first ever RIMS EChO Award for enhancing chapter outcomes went to the Oregon Chapter. For their continued service with RIMS and exceptional support of the society’s strategic initiatives, Andrew Bent, risk manager at the Sage Group PLC, and Lori Seidenberg, head of global real assets insurance at BlackRock, Inc., were named to the RIMS Ambassadors Group.
Tomorrow morning, the society will continue to recognize some of the risk management industry’s top talent at the RIMS Risk Manager of the Year Award Breakfast. RIMS Risk Manager of the Year and Risk Management Honor Roll aim to raise the profile of the risk management profession and the outstanding programs practitioners have implemented within their organizations. This year’s Risk Manager of the Year is Rebecca F. Cady, vice president and chief risk officer at the Children’s National Medical Center. Additionally, three risk professionals will will be named to the RIMS Risk Management Honor Roll: Sandy Aspinall, Jr., vice president of global risk management for Comcast Corporation; Jennifer Hills, director of the office of risk management services for King County (Washington); and Joseph Meaney, Jr., vice president of global insurance and risk engineering for The AES Corporation.