THE MID-OHIO SCHOOL HELPS RECOGNIZE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR INNOVATIVE SAFETY PROGRAMS
<http://www.midohio.com> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Rebecca Ackford, 614-793-4620, rackford@midohio.com THE MID-OHIO SCHOOL HELPS RECOGNIZE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR INNOVATIVE SAFETY PROGRAMS DUBLIN, Ohio (May 31, 2006) -The Mid-Ohio School, the high-performance driving and riding firm owned and operated by TrueSports, Incorporated, in conjunction with The Ohio State Highway Patrol and Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc. today helped honor eight district winners of the Annie Guccione Buckle Up for a Successful Season Awards program during an event at the Patrol's Training Academy. District winners, along with 252 additional Ohio high school participants each will receive a fully paid enrollment to the Honda Teen Defensive Driving Program at The Mid-Ohio School in Lexington, Ohio. "Safety, awareness and experience are paramount in driving," said Michelle Trueman Gajoch, president of TrueSports, Incorporated. "We're pleased to join our partners at Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc. and our friends at The Ohio State Highway Patrol in honoring these young adults and their commitment to safety. We look forward to welcoming them to The Mid-Ohio School to learn and practice defensive driving techniques." Annie Guccione, a 16-year-old junior from Canal Winchester High School, became the face and voice of Buckle Up for a Successful Season when she spoke at the program kick-off event at Canal Winchester High School in August 2004. Her poignantly emotional speech about a severe crash in which she was involved and one of her sisters was killed, and the importance of safety belt usage and making mature decisions, is the cornerstone for the program. Regrettably, just weeks after speaking about her experience, Annie passed away as a result of injuries she sustained in the crash. She embodied the essence of the entire Buckle Up for a Successful Season program - students helping other students to get them to understand the importance of making safe decisions behind the wheel, including saying no to alcohol and buckling up. Since its inception in August 2004, the Buckle Up for a Successful Season program has made an important impact in hundreds of Ohio high schools. This traffic safety and safety belt awareness partnership between the Patrol and Ohio High School Athletic Association has drawn extensive attention to the importance of teen safety belt usage through a variety of initiatives. The program's uniqueness centers on an emphasis of actively engaging high school students to discuss the importance traffic safety and safety belt usage within their peer group, instead of hearing those messages from adults. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, TrueSports, Inc. is a privately held motorsports entertainment enterprise. The company owns and operates Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Mid-Ohio School, and promotes a wide variety of motor racing, driver and rider instruction, corporate and family entertainment events throughout the year. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a 2.4-mile, 15-turn permanent road racing circuit in Lexington, Ohio. Located 60 miles north of Columbus and 75 miles south of Cleveland near Mansfield, the track has been called the most competitive in the U.S. and annually hosts a diversity of locally, regionally and nationally sanctioned racing events for amateur, club and professional riders and drivers. The Mid-Ohio School provides professional driving and riding instruction to drivers and motorcyclists of all skill levels. The school's 19 different programs vary from Defensive Driving, Performance Driving and Racing programs on the automobile side, to Beginning, Experienced, Advanced Cornering and Performance Track Riding programs on the motorcycle side. Students enjoy classroom sessions, skill drills, expert private instruction and lapping on the same track that challenges the world's top racers. The Mid-Ohio School has graduated more than 19,000 students since 1993. -30-