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Roanoke County Police Officers Recognized For Youth Traffic Safety Efforts

Two Roanoke County police officers were honored with traffic safety awards at the 2011 Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety (YOVASO) Awards Program on July 28 in Bridgewater.  The YOVASO Awards Banquet, held at Bridgewater College, recognized organizations, individuals and schools from Virginia that had demonstrated exemplary efforts during the 2010/20011 school year to encourage safe driving among teenagers.

Officer Todd Cunningham, SRO at Hidden Valley Middle School, received the “Volunteer of the Year” Award, and Officer Brent Hudson, SRO at Glenvar High School, received the “Best New School Resource Officer of the Year” Award.

Officer Cunningham was recognized for his volunteer work with YOVASO and his outstanding efforts to promote traffic safety among youth during 2010/2011.  Officer Cunningham serves on YOVASO’s Advisory Board and is also a member of the Executive Committee.  During 2010/2011, he took a lead role in organizing and working at YOVASO’s first annual Softball Tournament Fund Raiser and also helped plan and work the 2010 Youth Leadership Retreat for 150 students across the state. He is the sponsor for the YOVASO Club at Hidden Valley Middle School and helped his students place third statewide in the spring 2011 campaign called “Start Smart.”

“Officer Cunningham has taken a leadership role on YOVASO’s Advisory Board and has been a vital part of helping plan and develop YOVASO’s safe driving campaigns and trainings for member schools,” stated Mary King, YOVASO Program Administrator.  “He actively promotes YOVASO and has been beneficial in recruiting other school resource officers in Roanoke County and surrounding jurisdictions to become involved with our program.”

Officer Hudson was recognized as the “Best New School Resource Officer of the Year” for his support and guidance to the Glenvar High School YOVASO Club. During his first year as sponsor of the club, Office Hudson helped students plan multiple safe driving campaigns for the school. In March 2011, his club placed 3rd in the state in the Small School Division of the of the “Buckle Up, Drive Sober” Campaign.  Officer Hudson serves on the YOVASO Advisory Committee and is actively involved with the YOVASO Summer Leadership Retreats and the YOVASO Middle School Retreat. “Officer Hudson played a key role in getting students active in the YOVASO club at Glenvar High School this year,” stated Mary King, YOVASO Program Administrator. “With his leadership, the club participated in several statewide safety campaigns and increased safe driving educational and awareness efforts at the school.”

Eighteen individuals, schools, and students also took home awards during the annual YOVASO Awards Banquet. Colonel Steven Flaherty, Superintendent of the Virginia State Police, thanked the recipients in his keynote address for their important role in the prevention motor vehicle crashes and fatalities on Virginia roads.

YOVASO is a statewide youth leadership program for Virginia high school and middle school students.  The organization, which has 88 member schools, is administered by the Virginia State Police Association and funded by a grant from the Virginia Highway Safety Office.

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