A poster created by Millie Speck, a student of St. Mary’s Catholic School, has been recognized by AAA Mid-Atlantic for earning third place in its Annual Traffic Safety Poster Contest.

Millie was awarded third place in the Primary (K-2) division covering the subject of Pedestrian and Child Passenger Safety. Millie’s artwork was selected by AAA Mid-Atlantic from among nearly 1,400 entries. A panel of traffic safety experts judged the entries based on originality, technique, visual impact and relationship of messaging to traffic safety. Millie’s entry was selected from among hundreds of elementary school submissions.

“Millie’s poster not only showcased her artistic talents, but also helped spread an important message about pedestrian and child passenger safety,” said Martha M. Meade, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Motor vehicle-related crashes continue to be the number one cause of death for children over age 2, and we hope entries such as Millie’s will help students’ share the importance of traffic safety with their peers.”

The Annual Traffic Safety Poster Contest aims to reduce traffic related fatalities through education and community outreach. Each year, students design posters and public service announcements using traffic safety slogans selected by AAA. Entrants are grouped according to grade: K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. First place winners are awarded a $500 Visa Gift Card; second place winners receive a $250 Visa Gift Card; third place winners are given a $100 Visa Gift Card; and those receiving an honorable mention get movie tickets and a AAA Atlas.

AAA Mid-Atlantic serves nearly 830,000 members in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is the nation’s fifth largest auto club.