Ashlyn Van Gorkom, a fifth-grader at Horace Mann Elementary in Redmond, was inducted into the 2017 AAA School Safety Patrol Hall of Fame on May 20. Van Gorkom was recognized for her dedication to safety, community stewardship, leadership in her school’s AAA School Safety Patrol program and the motivation to help keep students and parents safe as they walk or ride their bikes to and from school.

Van Gorkom is a safety advocate at Horace Mann Elementary. She is seen as a positive role model and leader to her fellow patrollers and her classmates. Van Gorkom has shown that she truly cares about the safety of others and her knowledge and dedication as a safety patroller has helped keep her fellow students safe.

Van Gorkom was joined by nine other outstanding patrollers from other elementary schools in Washington state at an awards ceremony held before a Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field.

For more than 25 years, 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 elementary schools in 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 and partners with local agencies to bring the program to elementary schools across Washington. The safety patrol has been credited with being a major contributor to the substantial reduction in traffic related fatalities of school age children (ages 5-14).