Lehigh Valley Labor Council Presents Ray Heiser With The William Werkheiser Award
Ray Heiser began his career at Alpo, now Nestle-Purina Pet Care in June of 1969, He followed the footsteps of his mother, Marian Heiser who also worked at ALPO in the canning department for many years. He started out in the PEO, or Plant Emergency Organization which also served as the equivalent of a fire brigade.
Individuals in the fire brigade were also trained as EMTs and as the complexity of manufacturing increased, so did the potential for worksite accidents. In the early 1970s, Ray, Leroy Neff and some of their coworkers saw the need for on-site first aid training and thus a legacy began.
Ray has spent hundreds of hours teaching CPR at local pools and many children, now adults owe their lives to Ray for his professional training. Ray is still recognized by people in his community for having taught them CPR. Over Ray’s 43 year career, he has taught hundreds of his co-workers emergency training and consistently shares his high standards with his pupils, emphasizing the importance of a human life. On one occasion, Ray even saved his own life thanks to his training and strong instincts.
Ray has made a difference in his community and at Nestle-Purina Pet Care. There are many of his friends who now pay it forward and teach others thanks to Ray’s mentoring.
