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American Traffic Safety Services Association
ATSSA’
S
47
TH
ANNUAL
CONVENTION & TRAFFIC EXPO
Wood encouraged attendees to visit the 3M Toward Zero Deaths
Pledge Wall on the exhibition floor to consider making a donation to
The Foundation. 3M hosted the pledge wall for their second straight
year in which they match donations up to $5,000 to support The
Foundation’s Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarship Program.
Sawyer cited several other examples of creative ATSSA member
company Foundation fundraising, including Horizon Signal
Technologies’ auction of a portable message board that raised
$27,504, and Road Tech’s challenge to ATSSA members to
completely break down a portable sign quicker than they could.
Road Tech’s Ben Jeffrey and his team raised over $300 for The
Foundation through their efforts, and D2K Traffic Equipment and
Design LLC’s employees raised nearly $2,000. During the Annual
Convention in Phoenix, Waterblasting Technologies hosted a Monte
Carlo Night event and named The Foundation the beneficiary of the
funds raised. This was the first time an ATSSA member company
hosted such an event. The event generated nearly $22,000 for The
Foundation’s programs.
One of The Foundation’s latest activities—“Experience Camps”—
was also discussed. According to Wood, “Experience Camps provide
children of roadway workers who were killed in work zones a safe
place to meet other children who are experiencing similar issues in
their lives. The one-week summer camps are located in New York,
California, Maine and Georgia. Camps offer children another outlet
to share and discuss their issues with others. The Foundation pays
round-trip travel expenses for the campers.” The deadline for
applications to the Experience Camps is July 1. All the camps are
held in August.
The event in Phoenix was also The Foundation’s opportunity to roll
out a newly designed National Work Zone Memorial.
“Individuals, family members, agencies and organizations—anyone
across the country who has experienced a loss in a work zone—
is welcome to submit a form to have those names added to the
Memorial,” said Wood.
Regarding academic scholarships provided by The Foundation, five
students were recognized during the session as 2016 Foundation
scholarship recipients. They were Andrea Pair (Carl Albert State
College, Oklahoma), Lyndsay Sutton (Florida Gulf Coast College),
Rachael Moser (Harvard Graduate School of Education, Washington,
D.C.), Brionna Lizotte (Truman State University, Missouri) and
Hayden Gonyer (Universal Technical Institute, Massachusetts).
Wood asked ATSSA members in attendance to help The Foundation
identify future possible scholarship candidates.
“If you know a family that has been impacted by serious injury or
death as a result of a roadway accident, I urge you to submit the
names and contact information of school-aged children that are part
of those families for a scholarship,” Wood said.
Both Wood and Sawyer were joined on stage by Lyndsay Sutton and
her aunt Margo Storie. Both women’s lives were changed forever on
Nov. 23, 2011 when they were notified that Steve Morgan—
Lyndsay’s father and Margo’s brother—had been the victim in a
work zone fatal accident earlier that day.
Both women shared their emotional and remarkable story with all of
those in attendance. The emotional conversation with Sawyer
concluded with a video of the new National Work Zone Memorial
serving as a backdrop for a list of names of those roadway workers
who were added to the memorial in 2016.
Following the Opening General Session, a ceremonial ribbon cutting
was held at the main entrance to the exhibit hall at noon to officially
opening ATSSA’s 47th Annual Convention and Traffic Expo.
Hill and Smith, Inc. representatives Jeff Tidaback (center) and Cecil Brown greeted
Arizona Congressman Tom O’Halleran and ATSSA Chair-elect Juan Arvizu during
their tour of the exhibit hall.
Horizon Signal Technologies’ President Dave Krahulec (left) presents a plaque to
Highway Specialties’ General Manager Rich Holtman in grateful appreciation of
the American Traffic Safety Services Foundation and dedication to work zone
safety. Also pictured is Foundation President Tom Wood.