Training and technology were identified as two important areas to address during this morning’s Roadway Worker Protection Summit, the kick-off event of ATSSA’s 51^st Annual Convention & Traffic Expo.

“Training is absolutely critical,” said Kathi Holst, a four-decade member of the industry, an ATSSA board member and president & CEO of RCMS in Naperville, Ill. “If we aren’t providing training … we are negligent.”

Holst was one of four panelists for the Summit, which addressed both prevention of work zone incidents and resources for use if the worst happens and an employee gets killed on the job. ATSSA Vice President of Education & Technical Services Donna Clark and ATSS Foundation Chair Dave Krahulec moderated the discussion, which also included Doug Dolinar, who is president of Guidemark Inc. of Souderton, Pa., and also an ATSSA board member.

The first time Kathi Holst lost an employee in a work zone incident was decades ago but she vividly remembers the heartache and overwhelming desire to closet herself off from the world. Instead, she had to keep going and deal with the myriad issues that arise from such a tragedy.

Doug Dolinar is still reeling from the death of an employee just six months ago.

Those experiences motivated Holst, president & CEO of RCMS in Naperville, Ill., and Dolinar, president of Guidemark Inc. of Souderton, Pa., to take part in ATSSA’s Roadway Worker Protection Summit scheduled for Feb. 8 as the kickoff event for the Association’s 51st Annual Convention & Traffic Expo.

ATSSA members’ support of The ATSS Foundation has helped it through a challenging year. “Giving Tuesday” is tomorrow and offers another opportunity to help the nonprofit Foundation finish strong.

The Foundation’s goal in this one-day effort is $5,000 and every bit helps.

This global day of giving offers a great way to support the work The Foundation does all year.

For anyone challenged to provide their children with meaningful activity amid pandemic concerns, The ATSS Foundation has a great option.

It’s offering a 32-page child’s guide for staying safe in roadway construction zones. The activity book is geared for ages 5-8 and includes 26 safety tips – one for each letter of the alphabet.

It offers a fun way to learn the ABCs of work zone safety with lessons like, “B is for Be prepared to STOP.”

The last time Cody Garner saw his father was when he dropped him at football practice. Hours later, his father was killed in a work zone accident.

Cody was just beginning his sophomore year of high school when he lost his father. Today he’s starting his senior year at the University of Arkansas where he is pursuing a double major and a double minor. He’s grateful to the American Traffic Safety Services Foundation for the Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarship he has received each year of his college studies.

Though this year’s pandemic has challenged people in countless ways, The Foundation still needs help to carry out the programs it offers to support individuals and families impacted by work zone incidents.