The National Child Passenger Safety Board created an annual award to recognize one exemplary CPS Technician as well as well as one exceptional CPS Technician Instructor for their work and dedication to this field. The winners of the first annual Child Passenger Safety Technician and Instructor of the Year are:

CPS Technician of the Year: Giuseppina (Pina) Violano

Pina is an RN at Yale- New Haven Hospital in Connecticut where she serves as the hospital's Injury Prevention Coordinator. Pina has proven that she is not only committed to creating and maintaining a model child passenger safety program for the hospital, but also demonstrates outstanding commitment to educating the minority groups in her area. Pina has a true passion for her work, and believes every child, no matter what race, ethnicity, or financial situation should be healthy and safe. This tireless advocate spends many Friday nights offering educational programs in Spanish and schedules Saturday car seat check-up events to reach as many families as possible. Her outreach allows her to work with churches, Boys and Girls Clubs, Kids in Crisis, a domestic violence advocacy group, medical taxi services, and refugee clinics.

Additional details about Pina and her dedication to child passenger safety can be found in the AAA press release.

The CPS Instructor of the Year: Beth Washington.

Beth is the Safe Kids Tulsa Area Coalition Coordinator. She has worked for Safe Kids Tulsa for 13 years, originally coming to the organization as part of her college internship while majoring in health promotion at Oklahoma State University. She also became a certified child passenger safety technician and instructor in 1998, the year NHTSA created a national child passenger safety curriculum. As one of the original instructors in the nation, Beth has certainly seen many changes in technology and best practices over the past decade. As a Safe Kids Coordinator and one of the two state training contacts, she is a tremendous resource for installation advice, technical support, educational materials, or course information. Beth now mentors instructors and technicians for the eastern half of Oklahoma. Colleagues who nominated Beth for this award commented on how much of her personal time she dedicates to the cause, both volunteering at events and traveling to teach and to support child passenger safety legislation.

Additional details about Beth and her dedication to child passenger safety can be found in the AAA press release.

Nominees

The CPS Board received 77 nominations for CPS technician and instructor of the year. All nominees and the persons who nominated them are listed in the "Congratulations 2011 CPS Award Winners" document.