Here's the message about Daniel Shook that I said at the BB meeting I would forward to the BB.
Good morning!
First, I want to thank the Pedestrian Safety Board for allowing me to become a part of a great endeavor! Since I’ve gotten older with more aches and pains running is not on my list of activities I can do. I’ve adopted walking which provides many of the health benefits of running. Thank you!
As the director of the WVU-Greater Morgantown Safe Communities Initiative one of my major efforts will be to connect all of the tremendous efforts in our community for the purpose of keeping us safe and healthy! My purpose is not to eliminate or render ineffective any group, individual or effort attempting to improve our safety and wellbeing. On the contrary, I believe our collective strengths make us stronger. I’ve primarily coached team sports in my life and the teams I could blend individual strengths together as one were usually more successful.
The reason I’m rambling on about this is because during my first meeting with the Pedestrian Safety Board I became aware that some of our efforts were being addressed by other groups as well. I’m sharing the email below because as the WVU-Injury Control Research Center and Safe Communities Initiative held the Distracted Behavior Task Force meeting others such as the Pedestrian Board had the same vision. Also, I discovered today that WVU has a program, Heads Up! WV, that appears to be pursuing pedestrian/cyclist safety.
So, as I continue forward in my role I think it would be neat if somehow all of us wanting to make a difference in our community can find an efficient way to pursue our common vision together. In August I have scheduled a WVU-Greater Morgantown Safe Communities Advisory Committee. I’ve attempted to identify individuals in the community that represent focus areas in a safe community network. In September, I plan to convene a much larger meeting of all of the partners that had previously collaborated on the Safe Communities Initiative which led to our national accreditation. Maybe at that time we can figure out how to work together to achieve the same goal.
I had been in Morgantown and on this job for a very short time when we went through the accreditation process. Prior to the beginning of the last day of the accreditation team’s survey of us I had breakfast with Dr. Lee Smith, Director of the Mon County Health Department. I shared with him that I’ve seen many silos, pockets of excellence in the community. We just needed to get everyone connected. He smiled and said that those were ”cylinders of excellence”! We chuckled and then agreed we need to get those cylinders in the same engine to move us forward.
I trust you agree! Take care!
Daniel S. Shook, Ph.D., Director
The WVU Greater Morgantown Safe Communities Initiative
WVU Injury Control Research Center
P.O. Box 9151
Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-9151
Office: 304-293-8408
Cell: 614-448-7168
From: Shook, Daniel
Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2016 10:26 AM
To: 'Ed Preston' <epreston@morgantownwv.gov>; Harold Sperringer (hsperringer@morgantownwv.gov) <hsperringer@morgantownwv.gov>
Subject: DISTRACTED BEHAVIOR TASK FORCE - Consensus Statement FINAL
Hello everyone!
Because I’ll be leaving to head to Chicago for the national conference for Safe Communities America I wanted to forward this document which is a product of meeting in July. Moving forward I will update all task force participants as to activity directed at reducing the impact of distracted behaviors on injuries and deaths in our city, county and state. We will stay on this….we owe to the young child, young mother or father that may never come home because a preventable death or injury occurred because of a selfish act. We can really LIVE without our phones because others will LIVE without us using our phones!
Thank you for your participation and feedback on the development of the consensus statement!
Daniel S. Shook, Ph.D., Director
The WVU Greater Morgantown Safe Communities Initiative
WVU Injury Control Research Center
P.O. Box 9151
Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-9151
Office: 304-293-8408
Cell: 614-448-7168