AAA Washington hires Harry A. Thomas as Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer to Achieve Aggressive Marketing Goals

AAA Washington, the preeminent provider of emergency roadside assistance to more than 1.1 million members in Washington and northern Idaho, is intensifying its strategy to increase membership, grow its travel and insurance businesses and expand its mobile presence. To help accomplish these goals, AAA Washington has chosen entrepreneurial leader Harry Thomas as its new vice president and chief marketing officer to lead its creative, web, public relations, social media, publication and discount teams.

Robert Flowers Elected as Chairman of AAA Washington Board of Trustees

Robert Flowers (Seattle), retired senior vice president of Washington Mutual Bank, was elected as chairman of AAA Washington’s Board of Trustees. Flowers was with Washington Mutual Bank for 35 years where he served in several leadership roles, including senior vice president and manager of Commercial Real Estate, before retiring in 2005 as the senior vice president of Community Lending and Investment.  He has been a board member at AAA Washington since 2005.

Flowers is an active member of the community and has served on several other boards including: Washington State Convention Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital and Seattle Children’s Foundation, The Seattle Foundation, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, University of Washington Evans School Advisory Board, African American Heritage Foundation and the Museum Development Authority for the Seattle Art Museum, the Seattle Sports Commission, and is a former trustee of Evergreen State College.

Newly elected officers of the AAA Washington Board of Trustees include David Madeira (Gig Harbor), CEO of LeMay – America’s Car Museum, who was elected vice chairman; Carolyn Kelly (Seattle), former president and COO of The Seattle Times, was elected Treasurer; and Kirk Nelson (Sammamish) was re-elected as president and CEO of AAA Washington.

New to the AAA Washington Board of Trustees:

• José Gaitán (Seattle), managing member of the Gaitán Group, PLLC, a Seattle law firm. During his extensive career as a lawyer, Gaitán has served as counsel to seven of the Global Fortune Ten companies in addition to serving as counsel to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Resolution Trust Corporation, Fannie Mae, General Motors and more. He currently serves on boards for the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Independent Colleges of Washington and the University of Washington President’s Advisory Committee. Gaitán recently concluded his term as Chair of the United Way of King County.

• Patti Paris (Moses Lake), CFO of Columbia Colstor, Inc., a public refrigerated warehouse company. Paris has been with Columbia Colstor, Inc. for nearly 15 years. Prior professional experience includes leadership at LeMaster & Daniels, Grant County PUD and 10 years at Pacific Northwest Bell. Paris is also a board member of IARW (International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses), AWB (Association of Washington Business) and an Executive Board member of Grant County Industrial Power User Association.

Returning trustees are: Greg Bever (Spokane), retired publisher of Spokane’s Journal of Business; Gigi Burke (Everett), former co-owner and executive vice president of Crown Distributing; Don Brunell (Vancouver), vice president, Gordon Thomas Honeywell Governmental Affairs; Marilyn Batt Dunn (Seattle), retired senior counsel, UW Medicine Advancement; William Lampson (Pasco), president of Lampson International; Steve Matsko (Spokane), retired regional manager of U.S. Bank; Dennis Okamoto (Seattle), retired executive of US West Communications; and Ken Ryals (Beaux Arts), senior director of citizenship and public affairs at Microsoft.

Back to School: 10 Ways to Keep Students, Pedestrians and Motorists Safe

As the new school year begins, AAA Washington urges drivers to be aware and extra cautious when traveling in school zones, backing out of driveways and navigating through parking lots and neighborhoods. More than 1.1 million students in Washington state are preparing for back to school, which welcomes an increase in child pedestrian activity in and around roadways, especially during morning and afternoon hours.

According to the NHTSA, nearly 500 school-age children (ages 5-18) are killed each year during school travel while occupants of passenger vehicles, in addition to the 75 school-age pedestrians that are killed each year while traveling to and from school*.

Top 10 Back-to-School Safety Tips from AAA:

1.      Slow down. Obey Washington’s 20 M.P.H. speed limit in school zones. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a pedestrian is nearly two-thirds less likely to be killed when struck by a vehicle traveling at 20 M.P.H. compared to a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling 30 M.P.H.

2.      Keep your eyes on the road. Research shows that taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds doubles the chance of being involved in a crash.

3.      Come to a complete stop. More than one-third of drivers roll through stop signs in school zones or neighborhoods. Always come to a complete stop before proceeding.

4.      Reverse responsibly. Check for children on the sidewalk, in driveways and around your vehicle before slowly backing up.

5.      Respect crossing zones: More than 22,000 students in Washington state volunteer as AAA School Safety Patrollers to protect their fellow classmates during school travel. Be mindful near crossing zones and make eye contact with patrollers to ensure maximum safety.

6.      Watch for bicycles. Slow down and allow at least three feet of passing distance between your vehicle and a bicyclist. Expert advice, videos and safety tips at ShareTheRoad.AAA.com.

7.      Eliminate distractions: Eliminate dangerous distractions that can increase your risk of being involved in a crash. For example, store cell phones out of reach to limit texting, calling or emailing while driving.

8.      Talk to your teen: According to the NHTSA, 74 percent of fatalities during school travel hours are crashes involving teen drivers.

9.      Plan for extra time. Drive slowly and choose alternate routes to avoid school zones if possible, or plan ahead and allow for extra travel time if needed.

10.      Practice: Knowledge and practice of safe walking and biking around traffic is essential. Choose safe walking and bicycling routes and demonstrate the rules of the road with your children before school starts.
School zone safety tips can be found on AAA’s “School’s Open - Drive Carefully” page at exchange.aaa.com.

“Parents have a great influence on their child’s safe walking, biking and driving behaviors,” said Jennifer Cook, AAA Washington. “As families prepare for the upcoming school year, we encourage parents to talk about the importance of school zone safety with their children and teen drivers.”

* Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s specific criteria used to define school travel include: 1. Month of year: September 1-June 15; 2. Days of week: Monday- Friday; 3. Hours of day: 6 a.m. - 8:59 a.m. and 2 p.m. - 4:59 p.m.

AAA Washington has been serving members and the traveling public since 1904.  The organization provides a variety of exclusive benefits, including roadside assistance, discounts, maps and personalized trip planning, to its 1,080,000 members. In addition, its full-service travel and insurance agencies provide products and services for members and the public. Additional information is available through the company’s stores  in Washington and northern Idaho, at AAA.com, or by calling 1-800-562-2582.