JOHNSON CITY – East Tennessee State University Public Safety Officer Jerry Hughes is the recipient of a distinguished service award issued by Art Victorine, director of the Governor's Highway Safety Office, in recognition of “outstanding dedication and commitment in saving lives and reducing crashes and injuries on Tennessee's roadways.”
Victorine added his personal congratulations and thanks “for making such a tremendous difference and for setting the example for others to follow.”
Hughes directed the local “Click It or Ticket” campaign, which involved inspection and education of child safety seat installation. Law enforcement agencies from eight states participated in the roadblock blitz searching for and ticketing violators of seat belt and child safety laws. Hughes coordinated districts consisting of the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the sheriffs and chiefs of police within the counties of Washington, Carter, Unicoi, Sullivan, Carter, Johnson and Greene. The participating police departments included ETSU, Johnson City, Mountain City, Blountville, Bristol, Kingsport, Elizabethton, Jonesborough, Greeneville and Tusculum.
In a letter of congratulations, Wayne Reece of the public affairs law firm of Reece and Associates noted, “Because of your efforts there have been 151 fewer fatalities on Tennessee roadways . . . compared to the same time period in the year 2000.”
In addition to his work in the public service campaign, Hughes was instrumental recently in acquiring a $5,000 grant for the ETSU public safety office to obtain an in-car camera and hand-held radar unit for the department.