Chad Dodson of
Rutherford County Sheriff's Office
to be honored by peers at national conference of school
resource officers
HOOVER,
Ala., July 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rutherford County Sheriff's Deputy
Chad Dodson, who serves as a school
resource officer in Tennessee's
Rutherford County, has been named
the recipient of the 2024 "Innovation in the Classroom Award." The
award is presented by The National Road Safety Foundation and
NASRO, the National Association of School Resource Officers. Deputy
Dodson was selected by a panel of his peers in NASRO and will
receive the award July 15 at the
annual NASRO Conference in Phoenix.
The award, which recognizes innovative teaching of traffic
safety in schools by a police officer, carries with it full
conference registration and an expenses-paid trip to the NASRO
Conference.
Deputy Dodson has been a school resource officer for 15 years of
his 26-year law enforcement career. In 2014, he started a teen
defensive driving program called DRIVE – Defense Response Improving
Vehicle Education. The two-day program, which includes online and
hands-on components, is available for students from the County's 51
schools as well as home schooled students. It is presented several
times throughout the year and covers topics including driver
responsibilities, aggressive driving, distracted driving, the
effects of speed, following distance, intersection safety, fatigued
driving, alcohol laws and effect of alcohol on driving, severe
weather driving and more.
A companion program for parents was added two years ago.
Mo Canady, Executive Director of
the National Association of School Resource Officers, said, "Deputy
Dodson has developed an effective program that has helped thousands
of teens in his county become safe drivers."
"We are pleased to recognize Deputy Dodson's efforts that
continue to have a positive impact on the safety of our young
people on the road," said Michelle
Anderson, Director of Operations at The National Road Safety
Foundation.
Rutherford County Sheriff
Mike Fitzhugh said SRO Dodson
sincerely cares about teaching students the DRIVE class. "We
commend SRO Dodson for educating teens about safe driving habits we
hope they will use for a lifetime," he said.
NASRO, the world's leader in school-based policing, is a
not-for-profit organization founded in 1991 for school-based law
enforcement officers, school administrators and school security
and/or safety professionals who work as partners to protect schools
and their students, faculty and staff members.
NASRO developed the "triad" concept of school-based policing,
which divides SRO responsibilities into three areas: educator,
informal counselor/mentor and law enforcement officer. By training
law enforcement officers to educate, counsel and protect school
communities, the more than 3,000 men and women of NASRO
continuously lead by example and promote a positive image of law
enforcement to school children and school communities. For more
information, go to www.nasro.org
The National Road Safety Foundation, Inc. (NRSF) is
a 501 (c)(3) non-profit charitable organization that for more than
60 years has been dedicated to reducing crashes, deaths and
injuries on our nation's highways by promoting safe driving habits
through greater public awareness.
NRSF resources, which are free, deal with distracted driving,
speed and aggression, impaired driving, drowsy driving, driver
proficiency and pedestrian safety. The Foundation also works with
youth advocacy groups and sponsors contests to engage teens in
promoting safe driving to their peers and in their communities. For
more information or to download free programs, visit
www.nrsf.org.
Media Contact:
David Reich 914 325-9997
david@nrsf.org
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SOURCE The National Road Safety Foundation