DTRIC Celebrates Drive Aloha Champions

HONOLULU (November 8, 2021) – In recognition of the community’s efforts to keep Hawaii’s roadways safe and friendly for all users, DTRIC Insurance recently recognized the recipients of its inaugural Drive Aloha Champions awards.

Launched as part of the fifth anniversary of the DTRIC’s Drive Aloha initiative, Drive Aloha Champions celebrates individuals, businesses, and organizations for their efforts to promote responsible and courteous driving and encourage positive traffic behaviors.

“As a local insurance company serving Hawaii, DTRIC has a responsibility to promote traffic safety to prevent senseless accidents and fatalities,” said DTRIC President and CEO Takuya ‘Taku’ Mitsueda. “This year’s Drive Aloha Champions embody the Drive Aloha mission, recognizing those who have made a difference in building a community of safe drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists to respect the rules of the road. We hope their efforts inspire others to pledge to Drive Aloha.”

Drive Aloha Champions were awarded as follows:

Community Champion – Isabell Scuitto and Maria Elena Lopes of 808 Cleanups
Scuitto and Lopes have addressed issues related to driver visibility in their Ewa Beach community by maintaining a stretch of Farrington Highway near Old Fort Weaver, which has been continuously plagued with illegal dumping and overgrown vegetation. Over the last six years, their unselfish efforts have kept the area clean, safe for motorists and pedestrians alike.

Corporate Champion – Par Hawaii
Par Hawaii was recognized for its dedication to traffic safety in the community. For more than 25 years, the company has made safe driving among teens a top priority as a sponsor of the Department of Education’s annual Operation Driver Excellence event. The event is designed to raise awareness about the importance of safe driving practices to avoid preventable accidents among high school students. Par Hawaii’s support has included in-kind donations, use of its fleet vehicles at traffic safety fairs on Oahu and the Neighbor Island, and prize donations for other traffic safety education programs.

Educator Champion – Jan Meeker
Meeker has dedicated her career to educating generations of Hawaii’s teenage drivers to become safe, responsible road users through long-standing and innovative programs. As a resource teacher overseeing the Hawaii State Department of Education’s Driver and Traffic Safety Education Program for over 30 years, her valuable direction of the program and vast expertise has helped instill good traffic safety habits in children from an early age, and during their teenage years when many begin learning to drive. Meeker’s coordination of Operation Driver Excellence events on Oahu and the Neighbor Islands provide thousands of students and their parents hands-on driving courses with licensed driving instructors.