The workers’ compensation industry takes its share of bad news; some of it deserved, and some of it not. However, beyond the din of negativity, good things do happen within this industry. Many of us know of examples of injured workers who, despite horrific injuries and the challenges of resulting impairment, have risen up and taken their lives back, refusing to let a disability define who they are. We may know that adjuster or nurse case manager who went the extra distance to get an injured worker the help they need, or an attorney that really made a difference when the system failed to rise to the occasion and meet its responsibilities.

Yes, good things do happen in our industry, but you would never know it from reading the news. That is what makes the concept of Comp Laude so important.

The Comp Laude Awards and Gala was the brainchild of the late David Depaolo, president of workcompcentral.com. Depaolo believed that the industry should address its shortcomings head on, but also learn to be proud of its successes. Comp Laude is designed to address that need.

This year’s event, scheduled for September in Huntington Beach, CA, will be celebrating the good people in our industry who are making a difference. They can’t be recognized, however, if they are not nominated. Therefore, I encourage you to support this effort by nominating those you believe worthy for the recognition they deserve. Time is limited. The nominations window closes this week.

Produced every year by workcompcentral.com, this year’s event will be held September 23rd thru 25th in Huntington Beach. It is an important affair for our industry, as we need to learn how to honor and celebrate those things we get right. Comp Laude, however, serves a secondary task, although one just as important as the primary; it brings people and companies from all sides of the industry together, allowing friends and competitors to celebrate a common theme.

And if we can continually promote and highlight those things that work well within our industry, maybe we can actually reduce the incidence of things going wrong. By highlighting the positive, we encourage better results for the system in general.

This will be the fourth year that my company will be an enthusiastic sponsor and supporter of the gala. I would hope you choose to join the effort. Nominate a worthy person today. It is a journey worth the effort; both for our industry, and the injured workers’ we will serve in the future.