ATSSA Signal July/August 2019

American Traffic Safety Services Association 24 The Foundation The American Traffic Safety Services Foundation exists to promote roadway safety through charitable giving and public awareness programs. The ATSS Foundation’s Mission Passion for roadway safety and giving back New ATSS Foundation board member shares ways to support nonprofit’s mission The ATSS Foundation and its board members have one mission—to move Toward Zero Deaths on our nation’s roadways. The board’s newest member, Michael Hare, vice president of govern- ment relations for Qwick Kurb, shared why it ’s important to support the nonprofit and its programs to support loved ones of those impacted by work zone crashes. “The main goal for our work for The Foundation is moving Toward Zero Deaths in the work zone. In the work zone, the field of operation is such a dif- ferent environment—the average mo- toring public does not grasp the concept of how dangerous it is to work in the work zone … It’s your family, it’s my fam- ily. We all know someone out there who works in the work zone, we all travel through work zones. Safety at the end of the day is the ultimate goal,” said Hare. Hare has been in the roadway safety infrastructure industry for nearly 20 years and has been a longtime member of ATSSA—where he first learned of The Foundation and its work. According to Hare, his interest in becoming a donor and board member for The Foundation stemmed from a desire to “pay it for- ward” for others. “We all have a vested interest, whether we’re individuals in the industry, DOTs (Departments of Transportation), the motoring public—we all have a vested interest in keeping things safe and car- ing for one another,” said Hare. Hare shared that there are many op- portunities to support The Foundation, whether it’s through a monthly dona- tion, attending or sponsoring one of the nonprofit’s events, like the Twisted Bowl- ing Tournament at ATSSA’sMidyear Meet- ing, or becoming a board member. “You need to have a giver’s heart, a pas- sion for the industry and the passion for the people in the industry. And the heart to want to give back to people in the industry. As a board member I sup- port The Foundation financially, but also the volunteering—there’s so many op- portunities to volunteer as a boardmem- ber or an ATSSA member,” said Hare. The Foundation is currently looking for members to join their board of direc- tors. For more information on how to support The Foundation’s efforts, con- tact The Foundation Manager Lori Diaz at lori.diaz@atssa.com .