Career of an icon

As Diana McCartney, MFA Incorporated safety manager, retires later this month after a 38-year career, she’s going out on a high note, having earned one of the industry’s top honors.

McCartney received the “Safety in Action ICON Award" from DEKRA, the company MFA works with for safety compliance, consulting and training services. She was recognized at the 2025 Safety in Action Conference, held March 12-14 in Maryland.

The ICON Award celebrates individuals and organizations who are driving meaningful change in the world of safety. Now in its eighth year, this prestigious recognition is given to leaders who demonstrate passion, innovation and unwavering commitment to keeping people safe.

“This is truly an honor and a privilege,” McCartney said. “But this award is a team award, really. I couldn’t have gotten it without having a great team to work with, especially our SHIELD Steering Committee. They’re the roots of that whole program. Yes, I have a passion, but you must have people helping you to achieve anything like that.”

McCartney joined MFA in 1987, first working as a bookkeeper at the Shelbina location before briefly joining MFA Incorporated’s accounting team. In 1993, she moved into MFA’s new Safety, Environmental and Regulatory (SER) Department in an administrative role, working her way up to the position of safety manager and leading a team of nine SER technicians.

In 2015, McCartney was instrumental in the creation and implementation of SHIELD (Safe Habits Improve Employees’ Lives Daily), a behavior-based safety program that relies on peer-to-peer observations and the power of positive reinforcement.

In nominating McCartney for the award, Corey Hopkins, principal consultant with DEKRA North America, noted that her dedication to safety has led to great results, with a significant reduction in both frequency and severity of injuries since MFA launched the SHIELD program.

“Diana treats every employee with dignity and respect and makes them feel her true dedication to ensuring that they have a safe workplace,” Hopkins said. “She has a heart of gold, and her passion for safety is unwavering. She is so deserving of the honor of an ICON Award.”

While MFA employees have documented more than 200,000 safety observations and resolved more than 1,000 safety barriers over SHIELD’s 10-year history, the actual number is far greater because many observations and barrier fixes go unrecorded, said Stefan Knudsen, MFA executive vice president and general counsel.

“It’s just how we do business,” he added. “These observations have become the MFA way rather than yet another task to complete.”

Knudsen also noted that McCartney took initiative in creating the SHIELD program, recognizing the potential for this new approach to safety and effectively making the case for its adoption by MFA management.

“Throughout the many changes and adaptations in her career, the one constant has always been Diana’s passion and dedication to the safety of our employees and the farmers we serve,” Knudsen said. “She has tirelessly handled emergencies of all kinds—often during nights and weekends—and has been a calm, competent voice when it mattered most.  Much of Diana’s time has been spent outside the limelight, but, in short, this is a career of an icon.”

Her nominators also noted that McCartney’s efforts and SHIELD’s positive results have been noticed in the industry, and she actively networks with other safety professionals to openly share successes and challenges.

“On many occasions, MFA has taken the stage as a key presenter of their learnings in both technology and environmental health and safety, helping everyone to be better and to create safer workplaces for their workers going forward,” said Bill Bozzo, DEKRA general manager of training and safety services. “Diana brings a genuine caring for workers and her commitment to saving lives to those events.”

And that’s what really matters, McCartney said—giving all employees the best possible opportunities to work safely and go home to the things that mean the most.

“We don’t do these things because OSHA makes us do them,” she said. “Just making sure everybody goes home at the end of the day—that’s why we do it.”

***

Visit MFA's Safety, Environmental and Regulatory's resources web page here: https://mfa-inc.com/resources/safety