Past Events

ASIRT's Evening Gala - A Road Map for Road Safety

ASIRT’s 2008 Annual Event at the House of Sweden on June 16^th was a great success! The theme of this year’s awards dinner was “A Road Map for Road Safety.” Over 200 guests were in attendance to honor ASIRT’s extraordinary accomplishments and this years honorees. The event featured a wonderful original performance by CityDance Ensemble and accomplished Swedish fiddler Göran Olsson. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark Rosenker gave the keynote address on “The Challenge of Reducing Deaths and Injuries on US Highways and NTSB’s Call for Safety Upgrades” and Claes Hammar, Minister for Trade and Economic Affairs from the Swedish Embassy, spoke at the embassy reception. The night also included poignant acceptance speeches from honorees Paul Blank, Joan Rosenberg, Ben Shnider and Tomicah Tillemann accepting on behalf of his late grandfather Congressman Tom Lantos.

11th Annual Event
On May 23, 2006, ASIRT held its 11th Annual Event, "The Road Ahead", at the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C. The Fench Embassador, H.E. Levitte, delivered the welcoming remarks and U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Norman Y. Mineta, was the guest speaker. Awards were given to Marvin Rosenberg, ASIRT Counsel, Feriha Istar, ASIRT Board, and David Geanacopoulos of Volkswagen of America. The entertainment of the evening was by Dr. Phillip Pearl on the piano and the lively Kardelen Turkish Folk Dance Group. This lovely and successful event for 200 guests was chaired by Sharon and Steven Lieberman, and Bashi and Roger Packer.

10th Annual Event
On June 9th, 2005, ASIRT held its Annual Dinner, Ten Years of Achievement, at Strathmore Mansion and Music Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

There were nearly 200 people in attendance. The evening began in the Mansion with a Reception hosted by Ambassador W. Robert Pearson, who spoke on the topic of "Expanded Challenges for Diplomacy". After Ambassador Pearson's talk the time guests had an opportunity to watch a slide show, study a Ten Years of Achievement time-line, and investigate a model of the Travel Safety Park that ASIRT, together with its NGO partners, helped to establish in Denizli, Turkey. The guests then continued to the Music Center for the dinner and program. The Honorable Marc Grossman, former State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs and a past recipient of the ASIRT Road Safety Leadership Award, was Master of Ceremonies. Rochelle Sobel presented "Ten Years of Achievement" in which she highlighted the achievements of ASIRT over the past decade. The Honorees for the evening were Ambassador Pearson, who created the first U.S. Embassy-ASIRT-Civil Society partnership in Turkey; Chuck Hurley, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), who has spent 30 years devoted to issues of highway safety; H. Randall Morgan, Jr., Secretary of ASIRT, whose leadership abilities and vision has advanced the cause of road safety and the mission of ASIRT; and Laurie Wexler, past Executive Director of ASIRT, whose initiatives included the formation of the Global Road Safety Caucus and the creation of a Global Road Safety Toolbox. In addition to the Honorees, there were other distinguished guests in attendance, including, Congressman Robert Wexler, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, and several members of the diplomatic community. Entertainment was provided exclusively by youth volunteers.

9th Annual Event
In June 2004, the Seventh Annual ASIRT Reception was hosted at the Residence of the Representative of Taiwan to the United States, C. J. (Chien-Jen) Chen. His official home, Twin Oak Estates, is a National Historic Site and a symbol of friendship between Taiwan and the United States which sits on over 17 acres of land near Cleveland Park. Confirmed honorees are Stephen Hargarten MD, MPH, Medical College of Wisconsin, Oman's Ambassador to the UN Fuad Mubarak Al-Hinai, and the Department of Injury and Violence Prevention (under Dr. Etienne Krug) of the World Health Organization. The evenings co-chairpersons are Jocelyn Krifcher (community activist in Washington, DC), Susan Rose (community activist in Southern New Jersey), and Judie Stone (President of Advocates for Auto & Highway Safety).

8th Annual Event
In June 2003, the Sixth Annual ASIRT Reception and Silent Auction was hosted by Ambassador and Mrs. Daniel Ayalon of Israel. The evening's co-Chairpersons were Lincoln McCurdy and Janet Snider. The Honorable Mark Grossman, State Department Undersecretary for Political Affairs, was Master of Ceremonies and keynote speaker. Honorees were the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation; Stuart Jones (Deputy Director of the State Department's European Office of Regional, Political and Military Affairs); Israeli road safety organizations Metuna and Anashim B'Adom; and the SECUSSA (Study Abroad) Section's Health and Safety Committee of NAFSA (Association for International Education).

7th Annual Event
In June 2002 the Annual Reception and Silent Auction was graciously hosted by Ambassador and Mrs. Faruk Logoglu of Turkey at their Washington residence. As active ASIRT members who care deeply about the issue of global road safety, the Turkish community was integral to the event's organization and success.

6th Annual Event
In June 2001 the ASIRT Reception was held at the Embassy of Argentina and hosted by Ambassador and Mrs. Guillermo Gonzalez.