Safe Kids Dalton earned a 2016 Buckle Up, America! Award from two state agencies during a ceremony on July 13. Pictured are (from left) Harris Blackwood, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety; Lt. Nathan Callaway and Lt. Chris West with the Whitfield County Fire Department; and Don Bower, director of the Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute.
Safe Kids Dalton, which is coordinated by the Whitfield County Fire Department, received a 2016 Buckle Up, America! Award at the Awards Ceremony in Macon on July 13.
The award was presented by the Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute (GTIPI), a unit of the University of Georgia’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences Extension, and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
The Buckle Up, America! Awards recognize those individuals, agencies, communities, and civic groups who work to reduce injuries and prevent fatalities in Georgia through involvement with traffic safety, seat belt, and child safety seat awareness and enforcement initiatives.
“The 2016 Awards Ceremony was designed to recognize and publicly thank traffic safety advocates for all they have done to support safer travel in Georgia,” said Don Bower, the institute’s project director.
“These award winners focus on seat belts, child passenger safety and teen driving programs in the local community and across the state of Georgia. Traffic-related injuries and deaths are down significantly in Georgia, due largely to these efforts," he said.
Mr. Bower presented the awards with Harris Blackwood, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, and Frankie Jones, GTIPI director.
To be considered for an award, a nomination was made with supportive documentation that identified impact in the following areas: Community Involvement, Injury Prevention Activities, Advocacy, Leadership, and Merit.
“Safe Kids Dalton demonstrated how to effectively address traffic injury prevention and involve other organizations in a community effort,” Mr. Blackwood said.
Safe Kids Dalton was nominated in the Fire/EMS/Medical category.
This year’s nominees were also recognized for taking an active role in promoting injury prevention in the field of traffic safety, including legislative activities, injury prevention initiatives, and through media.
“Safe Kids Dalton demonstrated a strong leadership at a level of merit in 2016,” Mr. Blackwood said.
He congratulated recipients after the ceremony, saying, “we are extremely proud of the work these professionals and volunteers do to save lives on Georgia’s roads and highways.”
For more information about the Buckle up America! Awards, or for more information about traffic safety, child safety seats, teen driving, and older driving resources, visit the University of Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute’s website at www.ridesafegeorgia.org.