Hawai‘i Department of Education Names Winning Schools Of Traffic Safety Education Campaign With Support From DTRIC Insurance and Par Hawaii

(Left to Right) – Par Hawaii director of government and public affairs Marc Inouye, Hilo High School student Kayla Imai and advisor Jessica Blair; Moanalua High School advisor Kelly Kaholokula and students Ashlee Sakamoto and Abigail Wise; Aiea High School student Hailey Oshiro and advisor Mark Shimabukuro; and DTRIC Insurance executive vice president Ann Nakagawa.

HONOLULU, HAWAIʻI — ʻAiea High School and Moanalua High School swept first and second place in two categories in a recent traffic safety education campaign competition, sponsored by the Hawai‘i Department of Education’s (HIDOE) Driver Education and Traffic Safety Program, DTRIC Insurance and Par Hawaii.

The awards wrapped up a year-long, student-driven educational campaign to address distracted driving and walking, speeding, and other challenges that subject youth to undue harm. Students from the winning schools will be heading to the National Student Safety Program conference next month in Wichita, Kansas.

“One of the best ways to share important messages on safe driving that will resonate with youth is through their peers,” said Jan Meeker-Sevilla, the resource specialist who oversees the HIDOE’s driver’s education program. “The intention of this campaign was to empower students to take charge of their own safety and take it seriously. That’s why we call it our #takeitseriously808 campaign.”

“We gave students the latitude to develop their own messages for campaigns throughout this school year to influence other students and to share with the broader community,” Meeker-Sevilla added.

There were two categories in the competition: outstanding community service project and outstanding youth safety group. DTRIC Insurance provided the cash prizes for the outstanding community safety project and Par Hawaii provided the cash prizes for the outstanding youth group. The winners were:

Outstanding Community Service Project

• First Place: ʻAiea High School for their “STOP if You Love Me” campaign. The school received $250.
• Second Place: Moanalua High School for their “STOP if You Love Me” campaign. The school received $125.

Outstanding Youth Safety Group (based on number of projects/campaigns conducted)

• First Place: Moanalua High School. The school’s Peer Education Program received $250.
• Second Place: ʻAiea High School. The school’s Peer Education Program received $125.
• Third Place – Hilo High School. The school AVID program received $75.

“We’re glad to be joining with the HIDOE and DTRIC Insurance to reward youth with making our roads and neighborhoods safer,” said Eric Wright, Par Hawaii president. “It’s exciting to see students involved with elevating the importance of safe driving for their fellow students.”

“Driving under the influence, speed, and distracted driving are top contributors of Hawai‘i’s traffic deaths,” said Takuya Mitsueda, DTRIC Insurance president and CEO. “We’re glad to support this campaign to encourage Hawai‘i’s youth to adopt positive behaviors and drive with Aloha.”

Judging for the community service project was based on the following criteria: fulfillment of the mission statement; planning, implementation, and follow-up; student involvement and community involvement; creativity and originality; and benefit to the community.

The youth safety project criteria were: fulfillment of the mission statement; quality and quantity of projects completed; community involvement and student involvement; leadership, presentation, and design; creativity and originality; and benefit to the community.

About DTRIC Insurance Company, Limited
Established in 1992, DTRIC Insurance Company, Limited offers personal lines of insurance, including auto, homeowners, renters, and umbrella policies. It also provides a wide range of commercial lines of insurance, including general liability, property, and workers’ compensation. DTRIC is a member of MS&AD Insurance Group, Japan’s largest insurance holding company and the eighth largest property and casualty insurance group in the world. Learn more at www.dtric.com.

About Par Hawaii
Par Hawaii, the state’s leading provider of refined petroleum products, is headquartered in Honolulu and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Houston, Texas-based Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. Par Hawaii owns the state’s only petroleum refinery with a capacity to process 94,000 barrels per crude oil per day in Kapolei, Oahu, distributes fuels via pipelines on Oahu and barges to all major harbors in the state, markets fuels through a network of 76 and Hele retail stations throughout Hawai‘i, and operates the nomnom convenience stores. Visit www.ParHawaii.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Marc Inouye
Par Hawaii
(808) 382-8183

Nathan Hokama
Strategic Communication Solutions
(808) 226-7470

Wenli Lin
DTRIC Insurance
(808) 951-1815

Jocelyn Collado
Scott Ishikawa
Becker Communications, Inc.
(808) 533-4165