More than 500 brightly-colored helium balloons were released into the sky over Chattanooga Wednesday as McBrien Elementary participated in Driver’s Awareness Week.

Judy Appleby, whose 16-year-old son Michael was killed in a car accident last year while not wearing his seatbelt, coordinated the event along with Gail Phillips of the East Ridge Education Committee and Susan Kennedy, principal of McBrien Elementary.

“I had talked with Judy about what we could do for Driver’s Awareness Week and we came up with a balloon release,” Ms. Kennedy said. “Each balloon has a card attached that the kids colored and signed. We hope if people find the cards they will call and let us know, we’re going to have a big map of Chattanooga and pinpoint where each balloon is found.”

According to Ms. Phillips, each week through April 27, East Ridge schools will be promoting a different safety issue. “We are bringing the community together for Driver’s Safety Awareness. It’s great to see everyone coming together on this important issue.”

“This week’s spotlight issue is fastening seatbelts - a topic very close to Mrs. Appleby’s heart. After her son’s death, she started MAKUS (Michael Appleby Keeping Us Safe) in an effort to return driver’s awareness classes to schools and encourage the community to buckle up. Mrs. Appleby also has a video, “Remembering Michael” as part of the curriculum that has been shown to East Ridge students.

11-year-old Laela Cross is a student in Mrs. Appleby’s 5th grade class at McBrien Elementary and has seen “Remembering Michael” as part of the schools Driver’s Awareness activities. “I learned my lesson from Michael,” she says. “I didn’t know you could get hurt so badly if you didn’t wear your seatbelt. The video showed me that. It was so sad, I couldn’t help but cry.”

Laela’s classmate Richard Black said he hoped his balloon would float a long way. “Hopefully people will get these messages on the balloons and know that they need to buckle up.”

Mrs. Appleby watched the students file into the school’s parking lot with balloons in hand. “This is so exciting because I think this has brought awareness to the kids and given them ownership of the project. They know what this is all about. And I think it’s changed how they think.”

Don Beard, Director of Elementary Schools for Hamilton County was on hand for the balloon release and agreed with Mrs. Appleby. “This is just a wonderful way to heighten awareness to buckle up. The kids love it and they’ll always remember it. It’s a fun way to make a really important point about safety.”

Mrs. Appleby stood with more than 500 students and teachers to release her balloon. The card she wrote was addressed to “My Baby, I miss you.” As the balloons were released, she said some of the kids had asked whether they could float high enough to reach Michael in Heaven.

“This right here shows how you can reach kids as young as five years old,” she said. “They’re not the ones driving, but they are the ones climbing in the back seat and not buckling up.”

Mrs. Appleby and Principal Kennedy said that last Thursday they conducted an unannounced seatbelt check after school. “Three teachers checked 114 cars and only 52 percent of the children in the cars were wearing their seatbelt,“ said Ms. Kennedy. “After today, we certainly expect that number to go up. We hope it’s 100 percent.”

Judy Appleby and Gail Phillips of the East Ridge Education Committee helped coordinate Driver's Education Week.
- Photo2 by Christina Siebold