Gov. Christine Gregoire congratulates Washington State Patrol for winning MADD�s national President's Award

For Immediate Release: October 11, 2005

OLYMPIA- Oct. 11, 2005 � Gov. Christine Gregoire today congratulated the Washington State Patrol for winning Mothers Against Drunk Driving�s prestigious President�s Award. In front of an audience of more than 700 activists representing 48 states, Canada, Guam, Japan, Puerto Rico and Sweden, The Washington State Patrol was honored for outstanding work contributing to MADD�s mission to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. The award was presented by MADD National President Glynn Birch at the organization�s 25th anniversary national conference in Washington, D.C.

�I am very proud of our State Patrol and the wonderful work they are doing every day to keep us all safe,� said Gov. Gregoire. �Literally thousands of lives have been saved through their efforts and it�s great to see them receive the recognition they so richly deserve.�

�The work by the Washington State Patrol has positively impacted the State of Washington by saving lives and preventing injuries,� says Glynn Birch, MADD national president. �The devoted effort of the State Patrol is a reason why MADD is able to celebrate the more than 300,000 lives saved since the organization was founded in 1980.�

�The Washington State Patrol has been an inspiration to me and to our public policy department for some time now and they richly deserve this award,� explained Wendy Hamilton, MADD Immediate Past-President.

Added President Birch: �This agency has taken an approach that involves many partners from around their state, all experts in their respective fields. Because of increased enforcement focusing on speed violations, drunk driving, aggressive driving and seat belt use, they have seen a steady decline over the last five years in fatalities and injuries.�

�In addition,� she said, �they have also reached out to Spanish-language media, raising awareness and resulting in a decrease in Hispanic-involved crash fatalities. In total, all media outreach efforts across their state equate to over 18,000 hits related to traffic safety messages, which is very impressive.�

The award was accepted on behalf of the WSP by Chief John Batiste. �I am so proud to accept this award on behalf of the outstanding men and women of the Washington State Patrol,� Chief Batiste said. �We are committed to education and enforcement when it comes to DUI. We don�t want to have to make another notification to a family member that they lost a loved one needlessly to a drunk driver,� he said.

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