Xenia Daily Gazette

XENIA — Xenia Community School Cox Elementary School fifth grader Jonah Reed was honored with the AAALifesaving Medal. Reed was nominated by AAA School Safety Patrol Advisor LaShann Latimer.

For the first time in 42 years, AAA will award 11 AAA Lifesaving Medals to AAA School Safety Patrollers across the country.

“This was an extraordinary year for the program, with the quality of submissions and number of award recipients being direct reflections of the hard work clubs put forth in 2015 to promote AAA’s School Safety Patrol and bring greater recognition to the awards program,” said AAA National Traffic Safety Advocacy Manager Rhonda Shah. “The results illustrate the many examples of tremendous stories for us to celebrate as we prepare for the centennial anniversary of the program in 2020, and all participating clubs should be commended for their efforts.”

The medals are given to patrol members who save a life in the line of duty. Four AAA School Safety Patrollers from the Miami Valley region have been selected to receive the coveted AAA Lifesaving Medal of Honor. These students were selected by a panel of judges representing law enforcement and public health.

Other Miami Valley area AAA Lifesaving Medal honorees are: Ansonia Elementary School sixth grade students Peyton Beam and Carrie Rhoades. Both students were nominated by AAA School Safety Patrol Advisor Leslie Rhoades. Ansonia Elementary School is in the Ansonia Local School District. Beavertown Elementary School fifth grader Alex Needles was nominated by AAA School Safety Patrol Advisor Joellen Nichols. Beavertown Elementary School is in the Kettering City School District.

In its 96th year, the AAA School Safety Patrol program is the association’s longest-running safety program, with more than 654,000 patrollers working in more than 34,500 schools nationally to ensure their peers commute safely to and from school.