It takes commitment and dedication to be a AAA School Safety Patroller. For some elementary students, the Patrol is their first taste of responsibility and their first time to serve in a leadership role.

Students like Ashlyn Van Gorkom, fifth-grader at Horace Mann Elementary in Redmond, have shown selfless service, leadership and the dedication to brave all types of weather to protect the safety of fellow students who are heading to and from school. For their service to their schools and communities, these four safety patrollers are among the top 10 outstanding patrollers in Washington state to be inducted into the 2017 AAA School Safety Patrol Hall of Fame.

In recognition of each of these patrollers’ dedication to safety, community stewardship and leadership, they will be recognized at an evening awards ceremony held before a Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field on May 20.

As a long standing tradition, AAA Washington and a panel of judges from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington Traffic Safety Commission select top patrollers from schools across Washington each year and honor their accomplishments through induction in the AAA School Safety Patrol Hall of Fame.

Patrollers are evaluated and judged on their commitment to traffic safety, citizenship, leadership skills, and contributions to school safety patrol programs. Nominations require input from both the patroller and their advisor, including responses to a series of essay questions.

AAA created the School Safety Patrol more than 90 years ago. The Patrol has been credited with being a major contributor to the substantial reduction in traffic related fatalities of school age children.