Title: Safety Manager (Retired)
Company: City of Fort Worth
Location: Texas
Education: College Coursework, University of Texas at Arlington
Career History: Owner, PlaneShine, (1979-Present);
Safety Manager, City of Fort Worth, TX, (2006-2021)
Michael P. Taegel, Retired Safety Manager at City of Fort Worth, has been recognized as a Marquis Emerging Leader for their contributions and achievements in the field of public safety.
For decades, Mr. Taegel has dedicated himself to providing health and safety training and inspections in and around Fort Worth in Texas. Backed by an “old school upbringing,” college coursework at the University of Texas at Arlington, certifications by FEMA and FAA, and standing as a Certified Safety & Health Official and a Certified Environmental Manager, he has served as the owner of PlaneShine since 1979 and the municipality’s Safety Manager from 2006 until his retirement in 2021.
Over the course of his latter career, Mr. Taegel wrote and ran safety training and programs for Fort Worth, with such responsibilities as conducting safety inspections at numerous plants, including five wastewater treatment plants. He would write up any deficiencies he discovered and ensure that the errors were corrected. Among the various rewarding components of the role, he is immensely proud that he was able to save the city approximately $75,000 while in charge of training for hazardous materials, or HAZMAT, in his first year on the job. Prior to his hiring, the city had sent out employees to different entities for the Hazardous Materials training—which proved to be a very expensive approach. Through his expertise as a trained HAZMAT specialist and related areas, he was able to grant the city credit for Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and within two years as Safety Manager, he was able to decrease accidents and injuries by 15 percent. In addition, he was active as Fort Worth’s security supervisor and has long been a member of the National Safety Council.
Working since he was 13 years old, Mr. Taegel has been driven to get the job done as quickly and correctly as possible and having always maintained a “friendly, firm, and fair” attitude when it comes to his work, customers, and those around him. While committed to enjoying retirement in the future, he has recently been offered to utilize his skills at FEMA.