ERIE, Pa., June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Teen drivers not only have
responsibility for their own lives, they're also responsible for those of
others in the car: That's the crux of a public service announcement (PSA)
produced by Selinsgrove High School students and Erie Insurance employees,
filming on location in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041112/ERIELOGO )
The PSA was produced as part of Erie Insurance's Lookin' Out program, a
peer-to-peer safe teen driving program conducted in more than 70 high schools
across Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North
Carolina, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin during the 2007-2008 academic year.
Participating schools are eligible for a grant of up to $2,000 to design and
implement safe driving activities. All schools involved in the Lookin' Out
program were invited to submit a PSA script designed to build awareness and
positively impact teen driving behavior. A group of Erie Insurance employees
who help manage the program determined which entry delivered the strongest
safe driving message.
Sophomores Courtney Lester and Gabriella Damiano conceived the winning PSA
concept, submitted the entry and participated in the filming. The PSA was
directed and produced by Erie Insurance's media services staff with the
support and cooperation of the Selinsgrove High Lookin' Out Committee.
Erie Insurance agent Mark Dersham of A.A. Shaffer, Jr. & Son Insurance
Agency in Shamokin Dam serves as a liaison to the school's Lookin' Out program
and was pleased to see the students rewarded for their efforts.
"This PSA sends a very powerful message," says Dersham. "It not only
emphasizes the importance of wearing a seatbelt, it reminds teen drivers that
they take on an enormous amount of responsibility each time they get behind
the wheel of a car."
Karen Kraus Phillips, vice president and manager of Corporate
Communications and Investor Relations, is pleased that another
student-directed public service announcement, the eighth of its kind, is
available for broadcast.
"The Lookin' Out PSAs are a wonderful example of collaboration between
Erie Insurance, our agents and high schools in our markets," Kraus Phillips
says. "The students involved have become passionate about promoting safe
driving among their peers, and Erie Insurance is glad to provide resources to
help them."
To obtain a copy of the "My Big Sister" PSA, contact Megan Euston, Lookin'
Out coordinator, at 1-800-458-0811 ext. 7154 or at
megan.euston@erieinsurance.com
For more information about Lookin' Out, visit
http://www.erieinsurance.com/lookinout or check out the Lookin' Out multimedia
news release
(http://www.shareholder.com/erie/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=284732 ).
According to A.M. Best Company, Erie Insurance Group, based in Erie,
Pennsylvania, is the 16th largest automobile insurer in the United States
based on direct premiums written and the 21st largest property/casualty
insurer in the United States based on total lines net premium written. The
Group, rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company, has over 3.9 million policies
in force and operates in 11 states and the District of Columbia. Erie
Insurance Group ranked 488 on the FORTUNE 500. To learn more, visit
http://www.erieinsurance.com.
SOURCE Erie Insurance
