Randy Ruhlman keynote speaker at Kick-off for Northeast Ohio "Click It or Ticket" program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Randy Ruhlman keynote speaker at Kick-off for Northeast Ohio "Click It or Ticket" program CLEVELAND (May 24, 2005) -- Randy Ruhlman, the driver of the #49 Preformed Line Products Corvette in the Trans-Am Series and a native of Cleveland, Ohio, was the keynote speaker yesterday at the Kick-off of the Northeast Ohio "Click It or Ticket" campaign. Over 150 state and local law enforcement, private sector, and community leaders attended the media event at the House of Blues in downtown Cleveland. Regional media coverage was strong from the local television networks and print media. The House of Blues event was the kick-off for the ³Whatıs Holding You Back? Click It or Ticket² program for the Cleveland area ³Safe Communities² and eleven northeast Ohio counties. The national "Click It or Ticket" Mobilization runs from May 23- June 5. Law enforcement and community leaders in northeast Ohio will be encouraging motorists to buckle up and "Avoid the Summertime Blues" all summer long. Ruhlman spoke about the need to encourage everyone to use safety belts in their daily life. As a race car driver, Ruhlman emphasized to the law enforcement crowd, ³We need to help people understand that safety belts are needed just as much in the street car, as they are in a race car. I would never get into my race car without all of the safety devices, buckled up and working. Race cars are designed to protect a driver in case of an accident, but the driver needs to stay in the car for those safety systems to work. The same is true in a passenger car. You need to stay in the seat for the air bags and the car to save your life. It takes just three seconds to ³Buckle Up² and save your life!² The ³Click It or Ticket² Kick-off was organized through the efforts of the Rainbow Babies and Childrenıs Hospital Community Safety and Resource Center and the Buckle Down Cleveland Campaign with whom Ruhlman has had a long-standing relationship. Cleveland-based Preformed Line Products sponsors Ruhlman in the #49 Derhaag Motorsports Corvette in the Trans-Am Series. Randy Ruhlman got the first win of the 2005 Trans-Am season on April 10 at the Cytomax Challenge at the Long Beach Grand Prix. He is a veteran of both road racing and NASCAR short track programs, but has recently concentrated his driving skills in the Trans-Am Series. Ruhlman took third in the 2004 Trans-Am Driverıs Championship in a hotly contested battle with the closest points margin ever in Trans-Am history. In 2004, he scored seven straight top five finishes, including three podiums: a second at Road America, another second at Toronto, and a third at Infineon. Additionally, Ruhlman was the pole sitter for the Road America race and sat on the front row for the Cleveland Grand Prix. Randy Ruhlman is fourth in Top Ten finishes in Trans-Am history. Founded in 1947, Preformed Line Products is an international designer and manufacturer of products and systems employed in the construction and maintenance of overhead and underground networks for energy, communications and broadband network companies. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the Company operates three domestic manufacturing centers, located in Rogers, Arkansas, Albemarle, North Carolina and Asheville, North Carolina. Preformed serves worldwide markets through international operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and Thailand. For additional information, about the program, driver, or driverıs sponsor: http://buckleupamerica.org http://www.ruhlmanmotorsports.com http://www.preformed.com <http://www.preformed.com/> # # #