WRAP elects WANADAs John ODonnell as 2012 chairman

WRAP elects WANADAs John ODonnell as 2012 chairman

[I]Groups SoberRide program reaches 50,000 user milestone[/I]

The Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), begun with the support of WANADA in 1982, held its 29th Anniversary Luncheon Meeting and WRAPPY Awards ceremony last week to recognize community members and organizations that have made significant contributions to reducing drunk and impaired driving in the National Capital Area. The group also elected a new chairman for the coming year, WANADAs John O Donnell.

WRAPs efforts to reduce drunk driving, which include the SoberRide program that offers free taxi rides on holidays for those who may have consumed too much alcohol to be driving, the Safe and Vital Employees (SAVE) program that offers safe driving classes at the workplace and cooperative efforts with area law enforcement organizations. Taken together, these efforts have reduced impaired driving fatalities in the region by 16 percent over the past three years and more than 25% since the organization was formed in the 1980s.

The reduction in impaired driving fatalities is a testament to what a determined group effort can accomplish, said WRAPs new chairman John ODonnell, adding that his goal for the coming year was to keep our eyes on the prize for safer roads throughout the Washington region.

To that end, WANADA renewed its annual support for WRAP with WANADA Board member and SoberRide advocate Kevin Reilly, Alexandria Hyundai, presenting outgoing WRAP chairman Alexa Kaufman with a $5,000 check to fund the SoberRide program.

With WANADAs ODonnell taking the helm of WRAP, the association will have led the group twice since it was created. WANADA president Gerard Murphy co-founded the Sober Driving Coalition in 1982, becoming its chairman in 1986.

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