Legislator seeks honor for Olson
by Lisa Neff. Islander Reporter
Florida state Rep. Bill Galvano is asking his colleagues in the state Capitol to adopt a resolution honoring Rod & Reel Pier employee Christine Olson.
Olson, a Bradenton resident, has launched a national campaign to help law enforcement notify family when a relative has been injured in an accident.
Olson’s campaign is known in Florida as the To Inform Families First Initiative. TIFF’s Initiative is named for Olson’s daughter, Tiffiany Olson, 22, who died Dec. 7, 2005, in a traffic accident.
The accident took place at about 7 p.m. on U.S. 19 near 49th Street in Palmetto, but Olson didn’t learn that an accident had taken place until 11:30 p.m. and she didn’t learn that her daughter had died until 1:30 a.m.
Olson decided something needed to be done to expedite notification of families in emergencies and she went to work with Galvano, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to create a notification program.
The procedure is simple. Floridians with state driver’s licenses can register a contact number by going to www.toinformfamiliesfirst.com. To date, about a million people have listed a number for authorities to call.
Galvano now wants the state to recognize Olson for her campaign, which is being reviewed and may be adopted in other states, as well as at the national level.
The proposed resolution - HR 9009 - has been introduced for consideration in the 2008 legislative session that began this month.
“It is fitting that Ms. Christine Olson be recognized for her dedication to making a positive difference in the lives of the citizens of Florida,” Galvano’s resolution states. “Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Ms. Christine Olson as a tangible token of the sentiments expressed herein.” |
