AASHTO Journal - Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarships Awarded

The ATSS Foundation – the community benefit enterprise operated by the American Traffic Safety Services Association – recently awarded Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarships to 12 students for the 2024-2025 academic year.

[Above image by ATSSA]

ATSSA noted that the Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarship program began in 2002 to provide financial assistance for post-high school education to dependents of roadway workers killed or permanently disabled in work zones.

The program provides student scholarships potentially worth up to $10,000 per academic year and, since its inception, the program has awarded more than 135 of those scholarships.

“The goal of the program is to help dependents of workers killed or permanently disabled in a work zone incident navigate a path forward,” said noted ATSS Foundation Director Lori Diaz in a statement.

Additionally, the foundation awarded more than 25 Chuck Bailey Memorial Scholarships valued at $1,000 to applicants who have shown a dedication to volunteerism; a program named for an esteemed member of the roadway safety industry who passed away in 2002.

The 2024-2025 Roadway Worker Memorial awards go to four first-time recipients: Christopher Fletcher, Chris Hutt, Taylor Lingafelter, and Mary Sollars. New applicant Lingafelter is also one of the two Chuck Bailey Scholarship recipients.

James Beard of Highland, IL: James will be a junior at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where he is studying construction management. While carrying a full-time class load, James works part-time and is active in community service projects through his fraternity, Kappa Sigma. James was 8 years old in 2012 when his father, Dennis, was struck by a vehicle reportedly speeding. He was setting up a lane closure on Interstate 64 near Fairview Heights, Ill. Dennis Beard worked for Brightway Striping Services Inc. James is one of two recipients of the Chuck Bailey Scholarship.
Tessa Beard of Highland, IL: The sister of James, Tessa is working toward a master’s degree in social work at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in criminal justice. When not taking classes or focusing on internships, Tessa raises her twin sons, born during the summer of 2021. Tessa was 11 years old in 2012 when her father, Dennis, was killed.
Christopher Fletcher of Perrysville, OH: Christopher is preparing for his second year of the Master of Architecture program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Christopher works part-time for an architecture firm and assists with community service organizations like Habitat for Humanity. Christopher’s father, Forest John Fletcher – who worked for the Ohio Turnpike Commission – was killed in 2012 after being struck by a truck while supervising a bridge work zone.
Chris Hutt of Cleveland, TN: Chris will be a freshman year at the University of Tennessee Knoxville where he will pursue a chemical engineering degree. Chris’s father, Christopher Hutt, was killed in 2006 – two months before Chris’s birth – in Indianapolis, IN, while erecting a speed limit sign in a work zone.
Katie Hutt of Cleveland, TN: Katie, the sister of Chris, will be a senior studying architecture at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. She works part-time with a full-time course load and is involved in multiple community service initiatives, including cleaning out river bays and flowerbeds at the Knoxville Zoo.
Mariela Lara of Long Beach, CA: Mariela will be a senior at California State University Long Beach where she studies environmental science and policy. She completed an internship with a nonprofit that helps low-income families get healthy food and assists with Environmental Science and Policy Club events such as beach clean ups and sustainability fairs. Mariela was 14 years old in 2015 when her father, Adan – who worked for Ventura County Public Works Agency – was struck and killed by a motorist while clearing a road in preparation for an El Nino storm.
Taylor Lingafelter of Sullivan, IL: Taylor will attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to study biology and medical science with the goal of a career as a dentist. Outside of her dedication to her academic studies, Taylor is also heavily involved in extra-curricular and volunteer activities. She assists regularly with the local Red Cross and worked to establish a Red Cross club at her high school. Taylor lost her father, Lewis, in 2005 when he was killed in a work zone while taking retro-reflectivity readings for Applied Research Associates. Taylor also received one of the two Chuck Bailey Scholarships.
Leah McCance of Broken Arrow, OK: Leah will be a sophomore studying elementary education at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee. She is passionate about music, plays trumpet, served as drum major for her high school band, and volunteers at her church. Leah was two years old in 2007 when her father, Joshua, was killed while performing highway maintenance for an Oklahoma Department of Transportation contractor, CP Integrated Services Inc.
Sydney Parsons of Wenatchee, WA: Sydney studies at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Wash., to take prerequisite courses to become a nurse. Sydney works full time as an EMT in Wenatchee and volunteers with multiple local organizations, including planning Red Cross blood drives. She was 12 years old in 2016 when her father, Brandon, was permanently disabled in when a motorist struck the paving machine he was operating.
Alex Perez of Indianapolis: Alex will be a junior studying computer science at Indiana University-Bloomington. He hopes to specialize in software development or artificial intelligence and attributes his love of computers and video games to building his first computer at age nine with his uncle. In 2018, Alex had just turned 14 and was attending his first day of high school when his father, Julian – who worked for Digital Control Inc. – was struck by a car in a Michigan work zone where he was testing new locating equipment. He died the next day.
Megan Pirelli of Chicago: Megan attends the Chamberlain University College of Nursing in Chicago, pursuing a degree in nursing with a focus on trauma care. She plans to attend graduate school and become a nurse anesthetist. Megan works at Chamberlain’s open lab where she coaches younger nursing students. Megan was 20 years old in 2020 when her father, Mark – who worked for RoadSafe Traffic Safety Inc. – was struck and killed by a vehicle in a work zone on Interstate 80 in Wyanet, IL.
Mary Sollars of Rocky River, OH: Mary plans to attend Elon University in North Carolina on a partial track scholarship where she will study marketing and business. Outside of school, Mary stays busy volunteering, working a part-time job and tutoring a junior high student. Mary’s father, David Sollars, was killed in 2019 while striping a roadway for TraffTech in Cleveland, OH, when a vehicle entered the work zone and struck him and another worker.