Previous TZD Star Awards Winners
See 2009 Kathy Swanson Outstanding Service Award Winners
2008
Enforcement: Jeremy Cossette
Officer Jeremy Cossette of the White Earth Tribal Police is the recipient of this year’s Star Award for Enforcement. While working for the White Earth Tribal Police Department, Cossette has played a key role in developing the Safe & Sober Program and has worked hard to promote seat belt use, something he feels especially passionate about after being involved in a serious crash while working as an emergency medical technician. Cossette has also worked with the Tribal Council and local government officials to draft a primary seat belt law that will take effect in January 2009.
Emergency Medical & Trauma Services: Jim Theodore
The recipient of this year’s award in the category of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is Jim Theodore, a retired emergency medical technician and assistant fire chief and current volunteer firefighter. Theodore has been instructing first aid and CPR since 1977 and was instrumental in forming the First Responder Group in Clinton Township. He also worked with the Arrowhead EMS Association to form a highway safety program and has served on the Arrowhead Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Team since 1991.
Education: Cheryl Bisping
In the Education category, this year’s Star Award recipient is Cheryl Bisping. Bisping has motivated members of the community, leaders, business owners, and others to educate the public on preventable deaths and injuries from traffic crashes. She received alternate funding to create “Under 21? Not a Drop” billboards and successfully built strong support for the coalition with the Mesabi Daily News. Bisping has worked with individuals throughout the community to promote the Mesabi Safe Communities Coalition and bring increased awareness to traffic safety issues.
Engineering: Dave Kopacz
This year’s Star Award recipient in Engineering, Dave Kopacz, has been the safety engineer for the Minnesota division of the Federal Highway Administration since 1998. During this time he has been a key partner in developing Minnesota’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan and instrumental in educating state and local traffic engineers on strategies to reduce fatal and life-changing crashes. Kopacz has always placed a high priority on forming and maintaining partnerships with agencies and advocacy groups throughout the state. As a member of the TZD program and leadership teams, his leadership and support of Minnesota’s safety programs have been a contributing force in driving Minnesota toward zero deaths.
Child Passenger Safety: Tom Jansky
The recipient of the Star Award in Child Passenger Safety (CPS) is Tom Jansky of Gold Cross Ambulance, St. Cloud, Minn. Jansky and other Gold Cross Ambulance employees have gone above and beyond their regular duties to ensure that monthly car seat clinics offered by the local CPS program run smoothly. Gold Cross Ambulance offered its garage as a location for the monthly clinics as well as storage space for CPS supplies and meeting rooms for CPS-related business.
Previous car seat clinics in the St. Cloud area were held at various locations, many of them outdoors, which created a challenge for CPS staff each month to find a site, inform the public, and make it work for the clinic. By having a set location for these clinics, CPS staff have been able to extend the program and in doing so, better educate parents.
Media: Jeff Passolt
2008’s Media Award is given to KMSP–FOX 9 chief news anchor Jeff Passolt. Passolt volunteered his time to anchor a teen driving DVD that is being used by the Minnesota State High School League during all pre-season meetings with parents and teens. The DVD stresses primary teen driving safety issues and encourages young drivers to make wise choices. The DVD was also reproduced by AAA and shared with commercial driving schools and safe community programs.
Passolt has won Emmys for Best News Anchor in 1997, 2004, and 2006. He volunteers much of his time with local charities including American’s Walk for Diabetes, the MS Walk, and youth groups.