HARRISONBURG — Poquoson High School was among the 28 award winners recognized during the annual Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety (YOVASO) Awards Banquet held July 13 at James Madison University (JMU).
The school was recognized for its outstanding programs to prevent speed-related crashes among young drivers, YOVASO said.
Whitney Simmons, Associate Professor of JMU’s Physician Assistant Program who started her career with YOVASO, gave the keynote address for the awards banquet “YOVASO Jam: Showcasing Superstars for Safe Teen Driving.”
Simmons joined YOVASO in honoring students, schools, youth groups, teachers, businesses, and law enforcement from across Virginia who demonstrated exemplary efforts during the 2023-24 school year to encourage safe driving and passenger safety among teenagers, according to YOVASO.
The Speed Prevention Award is given in recognition of a member club’s outstanding programs to prevent speed-related crashes among young drivers, it said. The award may recognize one exceptional program or a body of work.
YOVASO is Virginia’s peer-to-peer education and prevention program for teen driver safety. YOVASO is a program of the Virginia State Police and is funded by a grant from the Virginia DMV Highway Safety Office. YOVASO has existed since 2001 and works with schools and youth groups across the commonwealth to improve young driver and passenger safety.
