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December 2016

Tis’ the season and we here at The Gillen Group are thinking back on an amazing year and feeling joyful! As 2016 comes to a close, we reflect on all the wonderful accomplishments our clients and traffic safety partners have made toward reducing motor vehicle crashes and resulting injuries and deaths. We know there is still much work to be done, but we are energized to continue our efforts in 2017 to reverse the recent trend toward more highway fatalities. Julie and I continue to be amazed at your dedication to preventing crashes, injuries and deaths on our highways and are excited to be a part of it!

Thank you again for all that you do, we wish you a SAFE and HAPPY HOLIDAY! 
  

Cathy Hickey Gillen
Principal and Founder
Julie Kettner
Communications Director
Ten Years of Teen Safe Driving Advocacy

December 2, 2016 marked ten years since the passing of 17-year-old Reid Hollister in a traffic crash.  Since that time, Reid’s father, Tim Hollister of Hartford, CT, has been a tireless advocate for safer teen driving, a blogger, an author and a friend of The Gillen Group. We are privileged to support him and help share his story.

Tim’s advocacy work has received national public service awards from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Governors Highway Safety Association, and the National Safety Council.

In his latest blog post, “Ten Years, Ten Questions: A Reflection of Safe Driving Advocacy", Tim shares what he has learned through the last ten years of advocating for safer driving for teens and all drivers. He leaves his readers with ten questions to start them thinking about where the line is being drawn today between freedom and safety.

It’s been a long and grief-filled road for Tim, and in 2017 he will be stepping back from his safe teen driving advocacy work and moving on to other challenges. Tim, however, remains hopeful for the future of teen driver safety in knowing that the many traffic safety advocates he has met along the way will continue fighting for this issue to make our roads a safer place. We are thankful for Tim’s many years of efforts to keep teens – and all drivers – safer on the road. We wish him only the best, but we know we’ll be seeing him around!

We hope that you will take the time to read and share his essay as well as his book Not So Fast:  Parenting Your Teen Through the Dangers of Driving

Do you have holiday parties to attend this season? We know that the holidays are known for being merry and bright, but they’re also known for being the deadliest season when it comes to drunk driving. Every holiday season, lives are lost due to drunk driving. The Gillen Group encourages you to be safe and not get behind the wheel after you’ve been drinking.   

If you’re heading out to celebrate the season, have a plan to get home safe. Call a cab, take an Uber, Lyft or other similar service, or have a designated driver.

If you live in the Washington DC metro area, take advantage of The Washington Regional Alcohol Program’s (WRAP) SoberRide campaign and call a free taxi!

The 2016 Holiday SoberRide program will be offered from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am nightly starting Friday, December 16 through Sunday, January 1, 2017. To receive a free cab ride home, call 800-200-8294 (TAXI).  AT&T customers may dial #WRAP from their wireless phones.  Click here for more information.

Julie Kettner of The Gillen Group attended the kickoff event in Tysons Corner, Virginia on December 16. The event was a great success, hosting law enforcement officers and traffic safety professionals from all over the Washington, D.C. metro area. Officers from DC, MD and VA were recognized for their outstanding achievements and efforts to keep our roads safe from drunk drivers. It was a privilege to attend the event and see the dedication of our law enforcement to our safety.  Keep up the great work WRAP!
Driving-Tests.org Needs Your Help!
One of The Gillen Group’s clients, Driving-Tests.org (DTO) is dedicated to making our roads safer for everyone and wants to make sure their resources are available to anyone, anytime.

One of their largest partnerships is with libraries nationwide. Currently, they have nearly 1,700 registered libraries offering their services and want to see that number continue to grow. DTO’s goal is to be in every library across the country but we need your help to make this a reality. Library partnerships are ad and registration free. 
Will you and others in your organization help us reach your community libraries? You can find your local library here. If you’re interested in helping, email Julie Kettner for more information.

Help Spread the Word - $2,500 Scholarship!
Earlier this year, DTO announced their new $2,500 annual scholarship! Applications are still being accepted until December 31, so please share this information with anyone looking for money to fund college expenses. The scholarship is available to all high school juniors and seniors, as well as undergraduate university or community college students. DTO wants to reward youth for using their creativity to encourage safe driving behaviors. Check out all the details here: driving-tests.org/scholarship/ .
Celebrating 20 Years of Safe Kids Buckle Up

The Gillen Group would like to congratulate Safe Kids Worldwide on two incredible events this month – the 20th anniversary of the Safe Kids Buckle Up campaign and their Safe Roads, Safe Kids Summit. We were honored to attend both events and are grateful for all they have done to prevent childhood injuries and deaths worldwide.

On December 6, Safe Kids celebrated the 20th anniversary of their partnership with General Motors on their Safe Kids Buckle Up campaign at a reception at the Newseum in Washington, DC. Through this campaign Safe Kids Worldwide has advocated for stronger car seat and booster seat laws, donated over 698,000 car seats to families in need, educated families through more than two million car seat seats and so much more.

On December 8 and 9, Safe Kids hosted their Safe Roads, Safe Kids Summit at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC.  The Summit is designed to enhance the visibility of global road safety and to reduce the number of deaths and injuries among children. Our many thanks for all you have done and continue to do to keep our children safe!

Leadership Development Programs for Women

Women in Government Relations (WGR) is pleased to offer two distinct leadership development programs for 2017! WGR is the premier, non-partisan professional society for those who have responsibilities and interests in the field of government relations and/or public affairs. They bring together women, at all levels, in small learning groups based on experience and passion.

The two programs being offered are Leadership in the 21st Century and Step into Power: Practical Leadership Skills. Both programs require a multiple week commitment and have proven results to help you develop and build your leadership knowledge and capabilities. Wondering which program is right for you? Take the quiz and find out!

We are truly blessed to work with safety advocates across the country and have the opportunity to see first-hand what all of you do to help save lives on our nation’s roadways. Have a safe and happy holiday!

To learn more about The Gillen Group, please visit our website at www.TheGillenGroup.com, and f ollow us on FacebookTwitter and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest in transportation safety news, happenings and events!