Speakers
Gary Norland is a world-class safety motivational speaker with a passion for safety. He worked construction for years until an electrical accident sent him to the emergency room with burns on 37 percent of his body.
He was told his brain and spinal cord was permanently damaged. More than 60 surgeries later, he has 40 percent use of his legs. Gary talks about the ripple effect workplace accidents have on the family, co-workers, and community of those injured. His images of the accident leave an impact on workers and companies. This is reality and Gary wants to ensure it doesn’t become another person’s life.
To provide an even more profound understanding of these far-reaching consequences, Gary’s safety presentations feature his wife, Jeannie, whose participation gives audience members a uniquely powerful perspective on how workplace accidents affect the entire family. While Gary delivers a raw, visually impactful account of his physical survival and the choices that led to his injury, Jeannie speaks directly to the invisible emotional scars and the ongoing daily reality of caregiving and grief. She openly discusses the complex reality of grieving the husband she once knew while navigating a completely altered life, asking the audience to consider what such a catastrophic event would mean for their own loved ones. By urging workers to view this not as “someone else’s story” but as their own, Jeannie helps break through complacency and highlights safety as a deeply personal, daily responsibility. This dual-perspective approach bridges the gap between simple procedural compliance and a genuine, lasting safety culture, making their message an invaluable resource for any organization.
