A new program is underway at Marshall County High School, courtesy of Lamb’s Auto Body, that encourages students to buckle up. Chris Lamb, owner of Lamb’s Auto Body, says the idea has been in the works for some time and it has now been officially launched. While the idea was his, he credits his wife, Kenisa Lamb, for putting in so much heart, time, and hard work to make his idea a reality.
T shirts have been designed and given to school administration who will be observing students entering and leaving the high school. Five to six shirts will be given out each day to a driver they see wearing their seatbelt. There’s one catch, everyone in the vehicle must also be wearing their seatbelt as well. Lamb stated “It’s about being responsible for everyone in their car as well”.
Once a month a drawing will be held from the names of the shirt recipients and five prizes will be awarded. The prizes could include anything from gas gift cards to electronics. Any student who isn’t drawn for a prize will remain in for the next month’s drawing. At the end of the year, just before Christmas, everyone will go back into the pot for a large drawing where $1,500.00 in prizes will be awarded.
Lamb says the idea for the program came to him after seeing the statistics published that showed 80% of 16-18 year old drivers do not wear their seatbelt. He thought back to his own graduating class at GCHS and explained they lost 3-4 classmates from fatal crashes over the years. Lamb then decided to use his business’ marketing budget to do something that would actually benefit others and make a difference.
“My goal is to see every kid at MCHS in one of these shirts. That would just tickle me to death.” Lamb added.
The program has been implemented with no set expiration. He hopes to continue it as long as the school system will allow him to. “The young kids are just such an important part of our growth” he stated.
Lamb is also working with KSP to arrange a day for them to bring their crash truck to the MCHS campus to demonstrate an accident and bring even more awareness to this serious problem.