Family of Crane Accident Victim Establishes Foundation Grant in His Honor

Oct. 16, 2008
The family of American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) member Terrance M. Hennessy, who lost his life in a tragic crane accident March 25 in Miami, Fla., contributed more than $40,000 to the ASSE Foundation to fund a professional development grant in Hennessy’s honor.

The Terrance M. Hennessy Professional Development Grant in the amount of $2,000 will be awarded annually to safety, health and environmental professionals for programs such as the ASSE certification prep workshop for the ASP, CSP, CHST or OHST, BCSP certification fees, an ASSE seminar or symposia or the annual ASSE Professional Development Conference.

On March 25, 2008, Mr. Hennessy was on a routine construction site visit when a crane collapsed. His purpose of the visit was to provide risk and safety guidance aimed at preventing workplace injuries.

“In recognition of this accident, the Terrance M. Hennessy Professional Grant Program has been created to support the advancement of knowledge and skills of safety and risk professionals in hopes that future work site injuries and fatalities can be prevented,” Michael Hennessy, Hennessy’s son, said.

Hennessy held the position of vice president in the risk consulting practice at Marsh and was a highly knowledgeable professional in the risk and safety industry. “This enabled him to help make many job sites safer places to work and as a result kept many workers out of harm’s way,” Michael said.

Hennessy studied engineering at Triton Community College as well as taking a number of graduate-level professional development curriculum courses enabling him to achieve a list of respected professional designations, including ALCM, ARM, AMIM, CHSP and CSP.

His family describes Hennessy as “a very social person who enjoyed being around people, traveling to new places, and making new friends. He put a special emphasis on his family and kept a very close relationship with all of his children and grandchildren.”

The American Society of Safety Engineers Foundation, established by and in partnership with the American Society of Safety Engineers, generates funding and provides resources for scholarship, applied research, academic accreditation and related academic initiatives in order to advance the safety, health, and environmental profession. For more information on the Foundation and its programs visit http://www.asse.org/foundation.

About the Author

Laura Walter

Laura Walter was formerly senior editor of EHS Today. She is a subject matter expert in EHS compliance and government issues and has covered a variety of topics relating to occupational safety and health. Her writing has earned awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE), the Trade Association Business Publications International (TABPI) and APEX Awards for Publication Excellence. Her debut novel, Body of Stars (Dutton) was published in 2021.

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