[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9448-9449]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           AAA AWARD WINNERS

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I am proud to announce to the Senate 
today the names of the young men and women who were selected to receive 
special awards from the American Automobile Association. Eight safety 
patrollers will receive the 2004 AAA School Safety Patrol Lifesaving 
Medal Award, the highest honor given to members of the school safety 
patrol. Another safety patroller will receive the special honor of the 
AAA National Patroller of the Year. They will receive their awards this 
weekend and I want to say how proud we are of them.
  There are roughly 500,000 members of the AAA School Safety Patrol in 
this country, helping in over 50,000 schools. Every day, these young 
people ensure that their peers arrive safely at school in the morning, 
and back home in the afternoon.
  Most of the time, they accomplish their jobs uneventfully. But on 
occasion, these volunteers must make split-second decisions, placing 
themselves in harm's way to save the lives of others. The heroic 
actions of this year's recipients exemplify this selflessness.
  The first AAA Lifesaving Medal recipient comes from Centereach, NY. 
His name is Shawn Rooney.
  On the afternoon of November 18, 2003, Shawn, age 13, was on patrol 
in front of St. Joseph School. A 9-year old boy, Zachary Chase, ran 
into the street to catch up with his class as a mini school bus was 
approaching. Shawn noticed that Zachary was in danger, grabbed his 
backpack, and pulled him back. Zachary was only one step away from the 
front of the bus.
  This year's second AAA Lifesaving Medal honoree comes from Manassas, 
VA.
  Josh Wampler, age 11, of Weems Elementary School, was approaching his 
bus stop on October 9, 2003, when he heard a woman yelling to a young 
body. Josh saw that a 3-year-old, Isaac, was standing in the middle of 
the street as a car was approaching. Josh carefully checked the traffic 
and met Isaac in the middle of the street. The driver of the car saw 
the patroller and child and was able to stop in time. Josh escorted 
Isaac safely to the side of the road and out of harm's way.
  The next AAA Lifesaving Medal winner comes from Bristow, VA.
  On the afternoon of October 14, 2003, Andrew Deem, age 11, was at his 
patrol station at Bristow Run Elementary School, when he saw a 2-year-
old, Anthony D'Areagelis, walking with his mother. His mother was 
pushing a small child in a stroller, and Anthony ran away from his 
mother, down a hill, and into the busy street. Andrew quickly saw that 
Anthony was in danger, grabbed him, and brought him back to safety. 
Andrew also stopped Anthony's mother from running out into the street 
after her child.
  The fourth AAA Lifesaving Medal recipient is also a student at 
Bristow Run Elementary School in Bristow, VA.
  On October 14, 2003, John Hickey, age 10, witnessed the event that 
took place with Patroller Andrew Deem. As Mrs. D'Areagelis ran after 
her 2-year-old, Anthony, the stroller that she had been pushing with 
Patrick D'Areagelis aboard began rolling into the street. John Hickey 
acted quickly and placed his foot into the street to stop the stroller 
from rolling any further. As he did this, an SUV drove by at a 
considerable speed, grazed Anderw's shoe, and did not stop.
  The next AAA Lifesaving Medal honoree comes from Culpepper, VA.
  Vincent Verardo, age 10, is a patroller at Epiphany Catholic School. 
On a morning in April, 2003, Vincent was at his patrol station in the 
school's parking lot, when he saw 4-year-old Paul Thomas run back to 
his car to retrieve something he had left behind.

[[Page 9449]]

Paul ran in front of a car leaving its parking space, and Vincent 
quickly ran to the car, took Paul by the arm, and brought him back to 
safety. The driver of the car attested that they had not seen the 4-
year-old until Vincent was present.
  The sixth AAA Lifesaving Medal winner is from Harrah, WA.
  Martay Gunnier, of Harrah Elementary School, was at her post on the 
afternoon of October 28, 2003, when she saw Raymond James, age 7, run 
out into the street to meet his mother on the other side without 
stopping to wait for a clear crossing. Martay acted quickly by taking 
Raymond by the arm and pulling him back to safety and out of the way of 
two oncoming vehicles.
  This year's seventh AAA Lifesaving Medal recipient is from Milwaukee, 
WI.
  Michael Chobanian, age 13, is a student at James Fennimore Cooper 
Elementary School. Michael was at his post on December 3, 2003, when he 
saw a 6-year-old, Chantal Hill, approach the street. Michael told her 
not to cross it, but she did not hear him and darted out into the 
street just as a parked car pulled away from the curb and began 
approaching quickly. Michael realized that the driver of the moving 
vehicle would not be able to see Chantal because their view was blocked 
by another parked car. He quickly yelled, ``Watch out!'' and reached to 
pull her out of the path of the moving car. The driver of the car swept 
by and slowed farther down the street, after realizing what could have 
happened.
  The eighth AAA Lifesaving Medal winner is from Akron, OH.
  On the morning of October 23, 2003, Robert H. Clement, age 10, was at 
his post at Pfeiffer Elementary, when he saw Aidan Robertson, a 2-year-
old, slip away from his mother and run out into the street. Robert 
immediately dropped his patrol flag and ran into the street to help 
Aidan. Robert returned Aidan to his mother after narrowly escaping 
oncoming traffic by an estimated margin of only 4 feet.
  In addition to honoring safety patrollers with the Lifesaving Medal 
Award, AAA also recognizes the School Safety Patroller of the Year. 
This award is presented to patrollers who perform duties above and 
beyond their normal responsibilities and demonstrate outstanding 
leadership, dependability, and academic strength.
  This year, the Safety Patroller of the Year is Katie Wright, age 11, 
a safety patroller at Randolph Howell Elementary School in Columbia, 
TN.
  Katie was selected because of her leadership abilities, academic 
achievement, and involvement in numerous school and civic activities. 
Katie wrote an essay on her school safety patrol experience and said, 
``Safety Patrol has provided me with several qualities that have helped 
me in becoming a leader.'' Among the qualities she mentions are 
patience, compassion, self-respect, charisma, responsibility, and self-
discipline.
  She and all of the other AAA winners deserve our thanks and 
admiration.
  On behalf of the Senate, I extend congratulations and thanks to these 
young men and women. They are assets to their communities, and their 
families and neighbors should be very proud of their courage and 
dedication.
  I would also like to recognize the American Automobile Association 
for providing the supplies and training necessary to keep the safety 
patrol on duty nationwide.
  Since the 1920s, AAA clubs across the country have sponsored student 
safety patrols to guide and protect younger classmates against traffic 
accidents. Easily recognizable by their fluorescent orange safety belts 
and shoulder straps, safety patrol members represent the very best of 
their schools and communities. Experts credit school safety patrol 
programs with helping to lower the number of traffic accidents and 
fatalities involving young children.
  We owe AAA our gratitude for their tireless efforts to ensure that 
our Nation's children arrive to and from school safely and soundly. And 
we owe our thanks to these exceptional young men and women for their 
selfless actions. The discipline and courage they display deserves the 
praise and recognition of their schools, their communities, and the 
Nation.

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