The newly appointed police support services manager for the city of Ames was honored recently in recognition of his commitment to public safety.

Chuck Cychosz received the Commissioner’s Special Award for Traffic Safety on March 28 in Cedar Rapids. The award recognized Cychosz’s work to increase traffic safety issues, particularly with young people.

Cychosz is the former manager of Crime Prevention Research and Training for the Department of Public Safety and was the project coordinator of the “Get a Grip” youth leadership and traffic safety program.

The “Get a Grip” program includes a three-day conference, with an action-planning component focusing on alcohol and seat belt use.

“The students have heard all of this before, but we have discovered that high school students have a lot of ideas and are anxious to take action,” Cychosz said.

Laurinda Smith, program assistant with DPS, said Cychosz’s work with “Get a Grip” has had a positive impact on more than 1,500 high school students in more than 200 Iowa communities.

“I think the thing that stood out for the reviewers [of the award] was the work we had done in youth leadership in traffic safety,” Cychosz said. “But it was a lot of people beyond me.”

Cychosz said the award recognized the work of many people at Iowa State and DPS.

“Naturally I was honored when I learned of [the award],” Cychosz said. “But my immediate thought was the award should have the name of 25 people on it, or should go to the DPS or Iowa State in general. A lot of people make these programs happen, not just one person.”

Other programs Cychosz has developed include a project to obtain child safety seats for international families at Iowa State and a college campaign to deter underage drinking and drinking and driving.

“Keeping the mix of cars, bikes and pedestrians safe on campus is an ongoing issue,” Cychosz said.

Cychosz said they decided to begin the project, Iowa Social Norms, after a couple of serious accidents on campus resulted in injuries.

Now Cychosz will be turning his focus to the whole city.

“For several years, Chuck has been instrumental in coordinating issues of social norms,” said Ames Police Chief Loras Jaeger. “The truth of the matter is that young students think that everybody gets to college and drinks, and [Cychosz] is working with younger students to know the truth is that a large percentage don’t.”

Jaeger said he hopes Cychosz will continue to work closely with these programs to further education about traffic safety issues and alcohol abuse through education, prevention and enforcement while he is at the Ames police force.

“The award exemplifies the value of what Chuck has done,” Jaeger said. “Hopefully we’ll save lives and help us all focus more on alcohol.”

Cychosz said he will continue to work very closely with the DPS on the same issues in his new position.

“I hope we can be as successful in the city as we were on campus,” he said.