General Headquarters — Columbus, Ohio

For Immediate Release: August 18, 2005
Contact: OSHP: Lt. Rick Zwayer or Sgt. Tony Bradshaw (614) 752-2792
Ohio High School Athletic Association: Bob Goldring (614) 267-2502
Honda of America Mfg., Inc.: Ed Miller (937) 644-7714

Honda of America joins Buckle Up for a Successful Season as sponsor for the Annie Guccione Awards program

Annie Guccione, a 16-year-old junior from Canal Winchester High School, became the face and voice of Buckle Up for a Successful Season when she spoke at the program kick-off event at Canal Winchester High School in August 2004. Her poignantly emotional speech about a severe crash in which she was involved and one of her sisters was killed, and the importance of safety belt usage and making mature decisions, is the cornerstone for the program. Regrettably, just weeks after speaking about her experience, Annie passed away as a result of injuries she sustained in the crash. She embodied the essence of the entire Buckle Up for a Successful Season program – students impacting other students to get them to understand the importance of making safe decisions, including saying no to alcohol and buckling up.

“Ensuring that Annie’s extensive contributions in promoting traffic safety messages to her peers continues, we are pleased Honda of America has joined us to honor Ohio high schools and students that are sharing those same messages of positive decision-making and safety with others,” Colonel Paul D. McClellan, Patrol superintendent, said.

The Annie Guccione Buckle Up for a Successful Season Award program will recognize Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) high schools, and junior and senior students from those schools, who actively promote teen traffic safety issues. Students who earn area recognition will receive fully paid enrollment to the Honda Teen Defensive Driving Program of The Mid-Ohio School in Lexington. From the area winners, nine regional winners will be selected and will receive $1,000 in financial assistance for college from Honda. A state winner will then be selected from the regional winners, and that student will receive his or her choice of a new Honda Civic, Honda Element, or $10,000 in financial assistance for college. Schools will also be recognized for innovative programs, with each winning school receiving a banner for display.

Nominations can be submitted through local Patrol posts through the end of February 2006. Winners will be announced toward the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Honda of America has committed approximately $100,000 to the program.

“Honda is excited to be apart of this partnership. Sometimes you find those projects that just click and this is one of those,” Lynn Dennison, Assistant Vice President and General Counsel of Honda of America Manufacturing, said.

"The Ohio State Highway Patrol did a fantastic job in promoting the 'Buckle Up for a Successful Season' campaign during its first year, and it's exciting that an outstanding company like Honda has joined this important program," said Daniel Ross, Ph.D., Commissioner of the OHSAA. "Hopefully, by teaming together, we will continue to help teenagers understand the importance of making good choices — which includes using a safety belt and saying no to alcohol — so that safety is improved within our communities and the number of tragedies is reduced."

Since its inception in August 2004, the Buckle Up for a Successful Season program has made an important impact in hundreds of Ohio high schools. This traffic safety and safety belt awareness partnership between the Patrol and OHSAA has drawn extensive attention to the importance of teen safety belt usage through a variety of initiatives. The program’s uniqueness centers on an emphasis of actively engaging high school students to discuss the importance traffic safety and safety belt usage within their peer group, instead of hearing those messages from adults.

Buckle Up for a Successful Season is important because young people are most at risk of not buckling up. In 2004, over 65 percent of the 160 people between ages 16 and 20 killed in crashes in Ohio were not wearing a safety belt.

For a second year, Patrol posts across Ohio are distributing large Buckle Up For A Successful Season banners and window clings to all OHSAA member high schools for display throughout the season at stadiums and other appropriate locations. In many instances, student-athletes, coaches, and other student leaders are signing the banners as a pledge to lead by example in wearing their safety belts this season – everywhere, every time.

In addition to the banners, throughout the school year high school students and fans will notice sustained Buckle Up for a Successful Season program elements including high school in-game public address announcements, school announcements, assembly presentations, media events, letters to the editor, and other materials.

Additional information on the Buckle Up for a Successful Season program, and the Annie Guccione Award - including a video of Annie Guccione’s remarks from the August 2004 event - can be found at www.statepatrol.ohio.gov/season.htm.

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