September 5, 2002: For immediate release

(Eugene, Oregon) - The World Safety Organization has selected Maryl Barker, co-founder and President of MEDIC FIRST AID International, Inc., as WSO Safety Person of the Year. The award will be presented in a ceremony on September 18, 2002 as a part of the World Safety Organization 16th International Environmental Health and Safety Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, NV.

Maryl Barker founded Emergency Medical Planning in 1977 with the purpose of improving the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and First Aid instruction. She and co-founder Peder Heineman recognized that many individuals trained in first-aid failed to respond in an actual emergency. Since then, she has led the company in the development of MEDIC FIRST AID, a series of educational training programs that have proven more effective in empowering people to act in emergency situations. These innovations were introduced years before other training groups adopted them, and many are now industry standards.

"During the past 25 years, Maryl Barker has led MEDIC FIRST AID to its place as a worldwide innovator in emergency care training programs," says Bill Clendenen, MEDIC FIRST AID Vice President, Business Development. "She has lived the World Safety Organization motto: 'Make Safety a Way of Life.'"

The WSO award is given annually to a person who has shown exceptional support and dedication to the protection of people, property, resources, and the environment on an international basis. To qualify for the award, candidates must participate significantly in the safety discipline in at least five countries worldwide; publish or author books, articles or texts, that are published and distributed in at least five countries worldwide; design a concept or process within the safety discipline; and show significant support for the promotion of safety education and discipline.

The World Safety Organization is a civic, non-profit, non-sectarian, and non-political entity dedicated to "Making Safety A Way Of Life . . . Worldwide." Its purpose is to internationalize all safety fields, including occupational and environmental safety and health and accident prevention; and to disseminate the practices, skills, arts, and technologies of the safety and accident prevention profession throughout the world. In order to share this important knowledge, the WSO provides facilities to pool technology and methodology in the health, safety, environmental, and accident prevention professions worldwide. The WSO has Consultative Status, Category II (non-governmental) with the United Nations. More information on the World Safety Organization can be found at www.worldsafety.org.

MEDIC FIRST AID International, Inc., of Eugene, Ore., is a worldwide leader in CPR, first aid, and emergency care training programs for business, industry, and the general public. MEDIC FIRST AID training programs are recognized throughout the world by governments, associations, and corporations as meeting regulatory requirements for workplace safety and health. More than 79,000 instructors in over 140 countries have taught MEDIC FIRST AID training programs to more than 8 million people.

For further information about Maryl Barker or to schedule an interview, contact Bill Clendenen at bclendenen@medicfirstaid.com or 541-344-7099.