Technician of the Year
Omaha’s Jennifer Penick became the first person to posthumously receive the prestigious Technician of the Year Award from the National Child Passenger Safety Board.
Penick, who helped launch Car Seat for the Littles in 2010, was committed to securing children safely in their seats – most notably and heroically her own 5-year-old daughter, who survived the same car crash that killed Penick and her husband, Adam, in last June. Their daughter, Unity, survived the head-on collision on Highway 50 near Schramm Road because she was properly harnessed in her car seat.
Family members accepted the award on Penick’s behalf during a ceremony March 30 at the Lifesavers Conference in the Kentucky International Convention Center.
“Our hearts go out to the Penick family,” said National Child Passenger Safety Board Chair Tammy Franks. “We hope they draw some comfort in the knowledge that, while Jennifer’s time here on this earth was way too short, she touched many lives. One of the greatest compliments you can give a educator, a person like Jennifer, is simply to say, ‘Thank you.’ So, we say, ‘Thank you, Jennifer.’ You made a difference.”
Additional details about Jennifer and her dedication to child passenger safety can be found in the Technician of the Year press release.