04/04/2023
I became Mrs. Haywood County (NC) International specifically to draw attention to laws and to fight for mandatory drug and alcohol testing & jail time for offenders who cause accidents resulting in catastrophic injury or death. This is too many PREVENTABLE deaths, folks! Emergency Responders lay down their lives every day to protect ours, and this is the respect we show them?! WE CAN DO BETTER, PEOPLE! Spread the word to SLOW DOWN AND MOVE OVER! Because Every First Responder Deserves to Come Home at the End of Their Shift!
Why am I so passionate about this issue? Because a client and friend of mine from Haywood County, NC, Austin Gayne, died doing his job as an Emergency Responder on the side of a Highway in Orlando, FL. He answered the call, but didn't get to come home to his 2 little boys after his shift. He was one week shy of turning 25 years old. This was a SENSELESS TRAGEDY that COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED had the driver SLOWED DOWN AND MOVED OVER.
Austin left behind a large group of family and friends and a Tow Family, who keep his memory alive by advocating for Awareness. His mom, Brooke Lawrence, and sister, Lex Gayne, started a Non-Profit Organization to hold events like car and tow shows and raffle/sell items to raise money for 2 billboards to spread Awareness: one in Orlando, FL, near the crash site that took Austin's life, and one at mile marker #33 on I-40 in Canton (Haywood Co.), NC, in the "S Curve," which is one of the deadliest stretches of road in the U.S.
I'm lucky to employ Austin's Mom, Brooke, as my legal assistant in my law firm, Vanhook Law, and even luckier to call her my friend. She's been such an inspiration to me and has never given up or given in to the black hole of sadness that a parent feels who has had to bury a child. Through her, I've been welcomed into several Tow Families, started joining their Facebook groups, realized that this issue isn't getting any better (in fact, it seems as though it's getting worse), and set my jaw with determination to do something about it.
Let me be clear, I'm not the only one who is getting to work on the issue of meaningful enforcement of laws. Far from it. Among numerous other pages and forms of advocacy, there's a National Tow Page, and it's existence is what inspired me to create my original platform & logos of 1 Family/1 Voice: Police, Fire, Tow, EMS & DOT. It was on this page and through these dedicated advocates I learned about the young woman in Missouri who was 6 months pregnant with a little boy, who was hit and killed while striping a highway for Missouri DOT. Her son never got to be born. Her mother lost a daughter AND a grandson that day. It was on this page and through these dedicated advocates that I learned about this and these other PREVENTABLE deaths from the pictures in this post below.
Look at all the different states and all the different type of emergency responders who have died IN THE LAST WEEK ALONE: Tow truck operators in OK, WY, & GA; a Firefighter in TX; a Police Dectective in LA; a DOT worker in NM; an EMT in MO. This is a NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL issue!
To continue fighting for Justice for Emergency Responders, I will be competing for Mrs. North Carolina International and, if I win, for Mrs. International. I've already designed several logos, which are featured on my platform page below, that can be used in marketing and awareness campaigns for . My goal is to start with NC and FL, because Brooke and I have the connections in those states, to CHANGE THE LAWS & INCREASE THE PENALTIES for violations of laws and, in doing so, create a National Model that other states can use to change their laws and increase their penalties for violations (or we can travel to your state and train you). We have to hit people where it hurts *in their pocketbooks* to ENFORCE THESE LAWS!
Why do I need a crown on my head to draw attention to this issue? I don't, but what we've tried so far ISN'T WORKING. The death tolls keep increasing. Good men and women are dying SENSELESS, PREVENTABLE DEATHS. Let's think outside the box! If having a CROWN AND SASH help me to get more attention for Slow Down Move Over Laws and Justice for Emergency Responders, I'M ALL FOR IT!
Each state is different, but all 50 U.S. States have . It's a travesty that EVERY 4 DAYS an Emergency Responder is STRUCK & KILLED on the side of a U.S. Highway or road.
Many people are studying the data on this issue, and there are ongoing efforts by Emergency Responder Advocates to raise awareness, change the laws, and increase the penalties in their states. WE MUST CONTINUE THIS VITAL WORK AND UNITE EFFORTS!
MY PROMISE TO YOU:
🖤 I pledge to meet with Law Enforcement Officials to ensure that laws are being ticketed/cited/charged by State's Highway Patrols, Sheriff's Departments/Offices, & City/Town Police
💛 I pledge to meet with District Attorney's Offices to ensure that tickets are not thrown out of court and are prosecuted to the full extent of the law
🩵 I pledge to meet with State Senators and House Representatives to pass legislation requiring mandatory drug & alcohol testing at the scene of an violation
💜 I pledge to meet with State Senators and House Representatives to pass legislation requiring mandatory jail time for a catastrophic injury or death as a result of an violation (even if it's just one day, on the date of the anniversary of the person's death the offender caused by their failure to Slow Down Or Move Over)
🧡 I pledge to meet with representatives the Offices of the Governors and Attorneys General to garner their support for the changes to that particular state's laws, penalties, & enforcement
❤️ I pledge to donate any and all money raised and received through these efforts to the Slow Down Move Over Awareness Campaign or similar non-profit agency spreading awareness of these laws and advocating for their meaningful enforcement
💛 I pledge to start in North Carolina and Florida and join forces with other Slow Down Move Over Advocates to Fight for Justice for Emergency Responders! THEN, WE ARE TAKING THIS ADVOCACY NATIONAL!
THIS IS MY PLEDGE TO YOU!
🖤 Because Every First Responder Deserves to Go Home at the End of Their Shift! 🖤
