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Bucks County Resident Honored with Prestigious EPA Award

Release Date: 06/29/2009
Contact Information: Donna Heron 215-814-5113 / [email protected]

PHILADELPHIA (June 29, 2009) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s mid-Atlantic region presented the Lorraine Urbiet Communicator of the Year Award to David Polish, of Warrington, Bucks County, Pa., at its annual Employee Recognition Ceremony on May 5.

Given in the memory of Lorraine Urbiet (1947-1993), this award is presented to the employee who personifies excellence in communications with creativity and caring.

Polish, a community involvement coordinator at the EPA for 12 years, works in the Hazardous Site Cleanup Division. Chris Corbett, last year’s winner, said that many of the issues Polish has managed over the years would have a familiar ring: EPA provides bottled water to area residents…EPA to conduct risk communications training to Mexican government…boots on the ground at Hurricane Katrina.

“Dave’s experience at Hurricanes Katrina and Francis; and his experience with regional emergencies have given him unique insights into how to communicate in a crisis, both to the press and public,” said Corbett. “Dave’s job as a community involvement coordinator can be tough. He sometimes has to sit down at a kitchen table to tell a mom that her child could have been exposed to lead-based paint, or explain why people need to stop drinking their well water. And as Dave has said himself, there’s really no training course on how to be empathic, kind, and patient.”

Polish, who grew up in Elkins Park, Pa., and attended Cheltenham High School (Class of 1968), graduated from Temple University in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in communications.

EPA’s mid-Atlantic region covers Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, WestVirginia and the District of Columbia.