Notables turnout to recognize FitzMalls for 40,000 child safety seat inspections
WANADA dealer member Jack Fitzgerald and his Fitzgerald AutoMalls employees were recognized this week at a special ceremony to mark 40,000 child safety seat inspections the dealer organization has performed since it began the effort in 1998. On hand for the ceremony at FitzMalls Buick GMC dealership on Nicholson Lane in Rockville, MD, were National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief David Strickland, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Montgomery County executive Isaiah Leggett, and chiefs from the Montgomery County Police and Fire and Rescue Departments.
In noting Jack Fitzgeralds achievement, NHTSA administrator Strickland said proper installation of child safety seats has saved at least 9,000 lives, though he lamented that only 70% of U.S. parents know how to do the installation properly. Safety efforts like those of Jack Fitzgerald and his employees are critically important to saving childrens lives and avoiding needless injury, he said. Joining in the praise of Fitzgerald and his FitzMalls organization, Rep. Van Hollen quipped, I dont know if car dealers or politicians go to heaven, but if they do, you are at the head of the line Jack.
County Executive Leggett said the effort was a dramatic example of a public/private partnership that benefits everyone, noting that the 40,000 child safety seats inspected by FitzMalls employees would result in a line of cars that would circle the Capital Beltway twice. 40,000 car seat inspections is a truly remarkable accomplishment, Leggett said.
Emily Crown, the lead trainer for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Departments Safe Kids Program, then presented Jack Fitzgerald with a plaque in special recognition of the FitzMalls child safety seat inspection landmark, along with its assistance in having more than 1,000 local auto technicians certified to perform the lifesaving inspections.
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