May 2000 Newsletter

Please Help Us - And Have Fun
Our next public event is staffing the Designated Driver booths at Vintage Virginia on June 3 & 4. We will need about 60 volunteers and you get free admission to the event. Call 703-352-3944 as soon as possible to get your preferred time.

If you can spare a few hours per month, we could really use your help in our office in Falls Church. Call us at 703-352-3944 for details.

Our other big volunteer needs are Kmart Kids Race Against Drugs October 7 & 8 and the Red Ribbon Run on December 31st. We are also looking into having a golf tournament this autumn. More details will be forthcoming.

Executive Director's Letter
One of the parts of my job that I like best is the opportunity to say thank you to folks who have helped MADD of Northern Virginia. Today, I would like to make special mention of those companies and foundations that have made significant donations to our chapter during the past year. If you have an opportunity to consider their products or services when you are in the marketplace, please remember that they are helping us to keep the roadways of Northern Virginia safe for all of us. Special thanks to: Acumen Heart Rate Monitors, Allstate Insurance Company, Connection Newspapers, Holiday Inn Eisenhower Metro Center, Kmart, Net2000 Communications, Next Generation Network, Nissan, TRW, USAA Insurance, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, and Worldweb.net.

Police Recognition Ceremony
As we have for the past several years, MADD, in conjunction with Fairfax ASAP, is honoring law enforcement officers from around the region for their diligent enforcement of the drunk driving laws. The ceremony will take place on the morning of May 26, 2000, in Tysons Corner. If you would like to help us support those men and women who risk their lives every day for us, call the office 703-352-3944 for the exact time and directions.

Election Results
At our Chapter General Meeting on March 8, we discussed our budget for next fiscal year and elected officers for terms beginning July 1, 2000. Although we are able to continue all of our programs into next year, we are not able to expand or add new projects as our donations have not risen as fast as our costs. We hope that the vehicle donations program will allow us to improve our victim services and educational efforts, but in the meantime, if you can afford to send a donation at this time, it will be a big help. The officers elected for next year are David Kelly, President and State Organization Representative; Dan Ingram, Vice President; John Pinckney, Secretary/Treasurer; and Jeff Levy, State Organization Alternate.

Mailing List Update
Many thanks to all of you who called or wrote in with corrections to our membership list after the February newsletter. They have been sent to the MADD National Office for processing and should be correct for our next newsletter. This time we are trying to get our entire mailing list updated. So, please make sure that your address is correct on the label and, if it is not, please mail the label back with the corrections on it. If you get more than one copy of this newsletter, please send us both labels and tell us which is correct. If you do not want to be on our list, please return the label and tell us that also.

Vehicle Donations
The flyer that fell out of the newsletter when you opened it announces our newest fundraising method. We now have the capability to take tax-deductible donations of cars, trucks and other motor vehicles. But we need your help. Please take the flyer with you next time you go to the market or other place that allows announcements to be posted and put the flyer up. If your place of work has employee bulletin boards, put it there. If you have more than one place to put it, please make copies and put up as many as you can. If this program is successful, we will be able to do so much more in Northern Virginia.

Be A Local Member
Is this your first newsletter from the Northern Virginia Chapter of MADD? If you joined MADD because of a mailing or telephone call, you are probably what we call an Associate Member and you will not be getting information about the things that we are doing locally in Northern Virginia.

In order to be informed about what we are doing to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking right here in your neighborhood, you will want to become a Chapter Member. To join our local chapter, just use the application in this newsletter. If you paid dues within the past year, you do not need to pay a second time, just indicate the month that you paid when you send in the application.