This month’s spotlight goes to Mr. David Garner, with Brenntag, who officially entered retirement at the end of May. We would not only like to highlight him as a dedicated member, but also wish him the best as he transitions into retirement.
David worked at Brenntag for over 36 years, starting as a chlorine repackaging plant supervisor and moving up to become Brenntag North America’s first Senior Vice President Operations. Among his accomplishments there, the North American team was able to reduce Brenntag’s lost time incident rate (LTIR) by over 90%. David then served as the Chairman of their Global Safety Team and was able to improve Brenntag’s global lost time results by 82% over a 10-year period.
David has attended Chlorine Institute meetings since 1994, and in 2005 was selected to serve on the CI Board. He was named Chairman of CI in 2008, which was significant as he was the first Chairman from a non-Chlorine manufacturing company. In 2015, David received the Peter M. Mayo Award. He said, “Those who knew Pete and the work he did for CI would understand how special this award is.”
Frank Reiner, President of The Chlorine Institute, stated:
“In his role as Chair, David brought a unique understanding of the needs of the packager/bleach producer members to board deliberations. He did that without losing site of needs of other member groups. Through his quiet leadership he gained acceptance of the committee structure implemented in 2006, which integrated committees with all member types empowering non-producer members. The increased engagement that resulted went a long way toward ending the factionalism that sometimes existed and has given CI stronger member teams that are more inclusive and deliver better results.”
When asked what he loved most about CI, David explained:
“CI is a great organization and I can honestly say I have gotten more out of it than I have put into it. The knowledge that I learned from industry members who were so willing to share information while participating in the various task groups was truly remarkable. The ability to take leadership roles in various teams and larger groups where you have no authority over the individuals is the best way to truly learn and display servant leadership. I would argue that there is not a better industry organization in the world, than CI.”
He leaves this advice for any new members not sure where to start:
“For new members the best advice that I can give is to start volunteering for Task Groups which are the heart and soul of CI. You will learn more about a subject than you could ever imagine while having opportunities to build your leadership skills.”
In retirement, Mr. Garner plans to mentor youth and young adults at his church and at the University of Kentucky College of Engineering. He also intends to travel as much as possible. The Chlorine Institute cannot express how appreciative we are of David’s contributions and dedication to CI over the years, and we wish him the absolute best as he begins this new life chapter!