Diamond Elementary Student Named an Outstanding Safety Patrol By AAA Mid-Atlantic

A Montgomery County Public Schools student is one of ten winners of the AAA Safety Patrollers in the Washington metro area.

AAA Mid-Atlantic and the Mid-Atlantic Foundation for Safety and Education honored the top Ten Safety Patrols a ceremony on today at The Waterford at Fair Oaks in Fairfax, Va.

Ivan Glerum of Diamond Elementary School was the winner from Montgomery County.

“Ivan Glerum was chosen as a Safety Patrol of the Year due to his leadership, dependability and academic effort at Diamond Elementary School,” said Jeanette Tejeda de Gomez, AAA Mid-Atlantic Public Affairs Specialist. “Ivan’s quick thinking and reaction time also saved a three-year-old child who walked into the street in front of a moving school bus.”

A tradition since 1920, the AAA School Safety Patrol has helped keep children safe by protecting them from traffic hazards on their way to and from school. The AAA School Safety Patrol program is one of the motor club’s oldest programs. More than 600,000 children throughout the country participate in the program, according to a news release from the organization. The Mid-Atlantic region has over 93,000 patrollers who help safeguard the lives of many boys and girls each and every school year.

“The leadership skills of these young students make them stand out in their schools,” said Joe Beddick, Safety Services Manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “We are incredibly proud of the safety patrols and can’t wait to see the excellent feats they accomplish in the future.”

The School Safety Patrol program, administered by The Mid-Atlantic Foundation for Safety and Education, instills traffic safety through this one-of-a-kind peer leadership program. Many famous Americans have held the position of AAA School Safety Patrol Officers including Vice President Joe Biden, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, five current and former Supreme Court Justices, five Olympic Gold Medalists and 21 astronauts, according to the organization.

About Krista Brick

Krista Brick is a multi-media journalist with Montgomery Community Media.

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