Denver — Sarah Futrell is the 2025 recipient of the Marion Martin Award, presented annually by the National Safety Council.
Futrell, chief of safety for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Mississippi Valley Division, was honored Monday during the Opening Session of the 2025 NSC Safety Congress & Expo.
Futrell has worked for the USACE for more than 16 years, beginning as a safety specialist in 2009 in Louisville. She also has served as a safety specialist and chief of safety in the Army Corps of Engineers’ Galveston, TX, and St. Louis districts.
The award selection committee was impressed by Futrell’s many professional accomplishments:
- Created and led “The Ultimate Safety Challenge,” a districtwide safety competition involving 26 teams that significantly increased participation and proactive safety behaviors.
- Reduced reported safety incidents in the St. Louis district from 14 to five in a single year under her leadership.
- Delivered OSHA 30-hour trainings across at least five districts, ensuring regulatory compliance and fostering long-term safety awareness.
- Increased female representation in one safety office by recruiting four women during her tenure.
- Served as vice chair for the Greater St. Louis Field Federal Safety and Health Council, advocating for female participation and leadership.
- Played a central role in shaping safety regulations, including serving as the Army Corps of Engineers’ lead for the personal protective equipment chapter of EM 385-1-1 and contributing to the development of the Position Hazard Analysis tool.
- Supported implementation of the Corps of Engineers Safety and Occupational Health Management System.
“Through her commitment to rigorous safety practices and advancing opportunities for women, Sarah exemplifies the spirit of Marion Martin,” said Lorraine Martin, NSC CEO. “Her measurable impact at the Army Corps of Engineers shows what is possible when we combine technical excellence with a commitment to developing the next generation of leaders. It is with great pleasure we present her with this award.”
NSC established the Marion Martin Award in 2016 to honor women who have achieved safety excellence and encourage other women to pursue safety careers.
The late Marion Martin, a government official in Maine for more than 40 years, was the state’s commissioner of labor and industry from 1947 to 1972. She was also the first woman honored with NSC’s Distinguished Service to Safety Award in 1971.
