Honda today unveiled the newest associate profile in its popular 12-part What Makes a Honda is Who Makes a Honda video series. Angie Trumpler, a safety leader at Honda of Canada Mfg., is featured for her commitment to job safety and for helping local youths through her involvement with the Miniature Horse Club of Ontario.
Trumpler, a 26-year Honda veteran, has led the safety initiative for assembly associates for the last four years. A volunteer with the local fire department, Trumpler started as an assembly-line associate before working her way into an administrative role. In her first months on the job, the new safety lead decided quickly that the best way to teach safety at the plant, was to lead by example.
"Every day you have to be consistent. I take great pride in being a driving force of our Safety Culture. Every time you go on the production floor, you have to lead by example," Trumpler said. "And you have to be compassionate. You have to show others that you are concerned for their well-being. It took me about a year before I started seeing that the associates believed that I was truly concerned about them, but once that relationship was established, they started to come forward with great ideas about how to make things better."
Away from the plant, Trumpler turns her attention to Ontario youngsters. The Miniature Horse Club of Ontario works with young people between the ages of 7 and 21, teaching the skills needed to handle a horse. At various events and shows, the participants are judged on their abilities to move the horses through in-hand obstacle negotiation, driving and in-hand jumping.
Shows range from small, informal gatherings on the local level to major events that can attract more than 200,000 people. The young participants work closely with the horses at each event, but also interact with the public, thus contributing to their growth on a number of levels.
"The biggest change I notice about kids in the program is the self confidence that they build and how it helps them solve day-to-day challenges. This gives them the ability to talk to people and adapt to situations," Trumpler said. "They have fun with the mini horses since they are less intimidating and easier to handle than full-sized horses, and it really helps them build confidence and self-esteem. We’ve noticed that many of them are doing better in school after they join the program."
The What Makes a Honda is Who Makes a Honda video series focuses on Honda’s commitment to innovation, inclusion, a youthful spirit and respect for the individual – core tenets of Honda’s approach to business that work equally well in the community. In addition, the videos spotlight the diverse career opportunities that exist within Honda, while also showcasing inspiring ways these associates engage in their communities.
The What Makes a Honda is Who Makes a Honda series will run on Honda’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/Honda.
About Honda
Honda established operations in America in 1959, and now employs more than 33,000 associates in its North America sales, R&D and manufacturing. It now operates 16 major manufacturing facilities in North America, producing a wide range of Honda and Acura automobiles, automobile engines and transmissions, Honda all-terrain vehicles, and power equipment products such as lawn mowers, mini-tillers and general purpose engines, using domestic and globally sourced parts.
This includes eight Honda auto plants in the North American region that have the capacity to produce 1.92 million automobiles each year. Honda operates major research and development centers in the U.S. that fully design, develop and engineer many of the products Honda produces in North America.
In 2013, more than 90 percent of the Honda and Acura automobiles sold in the U.S. were produced in North America.
