FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HANNA AWARDS
Drive Safe Hampton Roads present the 33rd Annual
John T. Hanna Awards for Excellence in Traffic Safety
Hampton Roads, VA. (March 2024) – The 33rd annual John T. Hanna Awards for Excellence in Traffic Safety were presented to individuals and organizations who demonstrated exceptional effort promoting and encouraging traffic safety within Hampton Roads. This event was held at the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission on Thursday, February 29. Drive Safe Hampton Roads is pleased to announce this year’s recipients.
The awards were given in the following categories: Traffic Safety Activism, Impaired Driving Prevention, Law Enforcement Initiatives, Legal Initiatives, Youth Traffic Safety, and Fire/Emergency Medical Services Initiatives.
The 2023 John T. Hanna Award Recipients are as follows:
· Tammy McGee (President, Conner Gweedo Memorial Foundation) - Martin H. Schlosser Award for Traffic Safety Activism
Tammy McGee turned a tragic, senseless crash that killed her 16 year old son Conner, and two other teens, into her life’s mission…to see laws changed and driving practices updated to ensure future young lives will be saved. As a result of this tragedy, Tammy has impacted many lives through education and the passing of new legislation that makes students and parents accountable for the privilege to drive in the state of Virginia.
· Officer Shannon Velez (Chesapeake Police Department) - Impaired Driving Prevention
Officer Shannon Velez has long been one of the leading officers not only in Chesapeake, but in the surrounding region when it comes to impaired driving prevention. She is relentless in her pursuit of promoting increased highway safety. She is a multiple-time recipient of both the Mothers Against Drunk Driving award and Chesapeake's Impaired Driving Enforcement Incentive. Most recently, between July 2022 and June 2023, Officer Velez removed 62 impaired drivers from the streets of Chesapeake.
· Master Police Officer Solomon D. Simmons, III (Virginia Beach Police Department) - Law Enforcement Initiatives
From October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023, MPO Simmons has made 143 physical arrests, 98 of which were DUI/DUID arrests. MPO Simmons’ main responsibility is DUI, speed and seatbelt enforcement. MPO Simmons has also taken over coordinating all of Virginia Beach Police Department’s Checkpoint operations, scheduling monthly checkpoints coordinating with all precincts.
· Brad Huffman (Senior Partner, Huffman & Huffman Brothers-in-Law) - Legal Initiatives
Over the firm's 50-year history, Brad Huffman has witnessed firsthand the devastating consequences resulting from the negligence of drivers on our roads. His safe driving inspired messaging ran on seven digital highway billboards for over 10 million impressions on our highways. Mr. Huffman’s proactive approach to making a positive impact beyond the courtroom and strategic use of the firm's marketing budget to promote safe driving initiatives reflects a genuine commitment to the well-being of the Hampton Roads community.
· Lance Koontz (Student, Tabb High School) - Youth Traffic Safety
Lance co-founded the LL12 Foundation and serves as its Executive Director. This foundation was created to honor the memory of Lance’s older brother, Logan Scott Koontz, who died in a tragic car crash in 2019 when leaving Tabb High School’s Homecoming. LL12 Foundation’s mission is to raise money for student athletes. The foundation awards scholarships, camp fees, equipment, and fills other requests as appropriate to the students who apply. In his foundation and club programming, Lance uses volunteers from the community as well as from within the school to utilize safe driving initiatives.
· South Hill Volunteer Fire Department - Fire/Emergency Medical Services Initiatives
Just after 6 a.m. on Sunday, May 15, 2022, crews were dispatched to a crash involving two vehicles on I-85 northbound. 5 minutes in, a vehicle hit the South Hill Volunteer Fire Chief's command truck. After this incident, the department, with help from the community, mounted the damaged Chief's truck on a trailer and attached signs describing the importance of Virginia's "Move Over" law. This traveling "Move Over" traffic safety message has reached thousands of people across the Commonwealth, including here in the Hampton Roads area for #moveover, #distracteddriver, and #safedriver campaigns.
· James Bunker (Independent Contractor to the Virginian Pilot for all the national newspaper delivery in the Virginia Beach area) - Honorable Mention for Traffic Safety Awareness
Mr. Bunker makes traffic safety a priority and is proactive as he delivers the news to businesses and residents in Virginia Beach, distributing to almost a thousand customers, covering over 127 miles daily on this route. Mr. Bunker knows the traffic challenges and characteristics of the neighborhoods he delivers in, making safety a priority by increasing his visibility and driving slowly while delivering.
About Drive Safe Hampton Roads: Drive Safe Hampton Roads is a non-profit regional coalition comprised of traffic safety advocates from regional law enforcement and fire/rescue agencies; national organizations; local businesses; military; state, city and county government officials; community organizations; and individuals from the Hampton Roads community. For over 35 years, Drive Safe Hampton Roads’ (DSHR) mission has been to improve roadway safety and reduce death and injury from vehicle crashes using initiatives that include educational programs, information sharing, and partnerships with public and private sector organizations.
John T. Hanna, the namesake of the awards, is widely known in the Commonwealth for his years of service dedicated to improving traffic safety in Virginia. Hanna served as the Deputy Commissioner for Transportation Safety at the state Department of Motor Vehicles and worked in the traffic safety field for more than 60 years.
Media Contact:
Jim McElligott, Drive Safe Hampton Roads
757-498-2562 / Jim@drivesafehr.org
For more information, visit www.DriveSafeHR.org and award pictures, visit www.drivesafehr.org/hanna.
