Every year, TRANSCAER® recognizes emergency response teams and individuals who have the passion and commitment to preparing their communities for hazardous materials incidents. These teams and individuals are nominated for various award categories by their peers in the industry who observe first-hand their dedication to the mission. During CI’s 2023 Fall Meeting in Indianapolis, we had the honor of presenting one of TRANSCAER’s more prestigious awards – the 2022 Distinguished Service Award – to one of CI’s own, Mike Croke of JCI Jones Chemical, Inc. TRANSCAER’s Distinguished Service Award is given in recognition of many years of exceptionally meritorious service to the public beyond normal TRANSCAER outreach and training activities.
Mike has been with JCI Jones Chemical for over 40 years performing various operations and emergency response duties, including serving as the CHLOREP Team leader for not only his Charlotte, NC plant but also managing emergency response issues at JCI’s numerous other plants around the U.S. 
In his role at JCI Jones Chemical, Mike frequently organizes and conducts hazmat emergency response training all locations of JCI’s plants, including hands-on training, table-top drills, and full-scale drills. Even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, when many areas were effectively shut down, Mike made sure that hazmat emergency response training continued in some form where possible. To aid in his outreach and training in the Charlotte, NC area, Mike also serves on Charlotte’s Local Emergency Planning Committee.
Mike has been a member of the Emergency Preparedness Issue Team (EPIT) for many years, which includes serving as the issue team vice chair for the last four years and was recently approved by the team to continue as the chair for the next term on the team. 
As a lead instructor at CI’s annual CHLOREP Team Training, where CI hosts over 100 students from member CHLOREP Teams, CHLOREP Contractors, other CI members, rail and government partners, and the occasional state responder or emergency management personnel, Mike is one of the reasons the Water Treatment Plant exercise (a simulated chlorine container release in the smokehouse) is often raved as “the favorite” field station. He tends to be one of first in line when CI requests volunteers for TRANSCAER training events. Mike also takes on other requests to provide emergency response training outside of CI training events, which sometimes include providing customized training to individual locales to prepare them for their unique scenarios. 
Beyond CI emergency response training, Mike takes on the chair role of the EPIT’s various task groups that update chlorine emergency kit instruction booklets and videos, develop new emergency response guidance for CHLOREP Teams and first responders, and pursue advancements in emergency response equipment. Many individuals and organizations have benefited from Mike’s expertise through emergency response training, during issues team or task group meetings, or even his many presentations at CI meetings, including CI’s Tech Symposium where he shared his knowledge of how to troubleshoot chlorine emergencies when the emergency kits won’t mitigate a leak.
Mike Croke has continually showed his dedication to the advancement of CI’s and TRANSCAER’s missions, as well as JCI Jones’, through his passion and the personal attention he gives to community awareness, emergency planning and hazmat emergency response training. This is why Mike is more than deserving of TRANSCAER’s prestigious Distinguished Service Award.
Please join The Chlorine Institute in congratulating Mike Croke for
receiving TRANSCAER’s 2022 Distinguished Service Award!