Clark Joins Yazoo As Safety & Health Manager

Yazoo Mills is pleased to announce that Sam Clark, CSP, has joined the company as Occupational Safety & Health Manager.

Sam brings more than 30 years of industrial experience to the team, including global experience with safety cultures throughout different countries. In his role at Yazoo, he will be responsible for assisting our company in the development of a world-class safety culture to improve the health and well-being of our employees and to help the business be even more sustainable in our future growth.

Sam has a passion and commitment to finding safer ways of working, which he established through his previous role and continued education. He began with self-education to enhance his skills by completing over 364 hours of training programs and earning over 30 certifications through OSHAcademy. Sam attended Columbia Southern University (CSU) to pursue a bachelor of science degree in Occupational Safety and Health and earned his Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP) designation. Later, he earned the highest certification as a safety professional by becoming a Certified Safety Professional (CSP)—a six-month process, ending with a 5 ½ hour exam that tests your knowledge on standards, regulations, management principles, and many other categories within the safety profession.

When asked why he chose Yazoo, he replied “After working with global organizations, I’ve had the privilege to travel around the world and learn about different safety cultures. When I made the decision to start looking for another adventure, two things pulled me closer to taking this step toward Yazoo. First, it’s a family-business atmosphere, that after working for big corporations for most of my career, was the change I was looking for. Second, after touring the facility, I saw the people and the work that I immediately knew this was the place for me and the people I wanted to work with to help improve their already growing process. There are many great things happening here at Yazoo Mills and I wanted to be a part of the team to help build a safety culture, which could help them take the next step in being the best in the business.”

Sam added, “The short time I have been at Yazoo Mills has encouraged me as a safety professional, I have seen other team members come together and get involved. “Change is never an easy thing, but the progress made by many of the team members is encouraging and I look forward to the future as we continue to improve.”

What does Sam do when he’s not at work, he replied “As many of us in the tri-state area, I like spending time in the outdoors. Sitting out in the woods and enjoying the quietness of nature is my favorite pastime. I like kayaking during the summer months as this can also be a peaceful time surrounded by nature. My latest adventure and passion are wines, it has become a dream of mine to have my own little winery as a retirement project. After spending time traveling up and down the East Coast and to other countries overseas, trying many varieties of different wines. I have recently started making my own and also have planted my own little vineyard which is two years old.”

Fun fact about Sam, he used to bowl on 10-pin leagues over the years. He has bowled three perfect 300 games, and he has rings and awards from the bowling association.

Welcome to the team, Sam! We are excited to watch as you hit the ground running and bring new, innovative ideas to improve our workplace safety.