State Group Honors Woodbury Officer Melander

For his work in promoting traffic safety, including enforcement and community education, the Minnesota Alcohol Traffic Safety Association recently honored Woodbury traffic officer Scott Melander with a 2011 Award for Excellence.

Melander was one of only six law enforcement officers from the state to earn the award, which he received during an April 28 Minnesota Alcohol Traffic Safety Association (MATSA) conference in St. Cloud.

“Officer Melander’s sustained commitment to traffic safety has set him apart from his peers,” Sgt. Curt Zacharias said in nominating Melander for the MATSA award. “His efforts toward keeping our roads safe certainly rose ‘above and beyond’ for 2010.”

Melander, who has worked for the since 1997, was appointed its first traffic enforcement officer in late 2009.

According to a release from Woodbury officials, the award recognizes him for:

• Speaking to hundreds of K-12 students regarding the importance of booster seats and seat belts and about the danger of impaired and distracted driving;
• leading the department in the number of citations issued, with emphasis on speeding, seat belt and child safety compliance, and distracted driving;
• serving on the city’s Traffic Advisory Committee, a multi-department group that addresses traffic and engineering issues on roadways within Woodbury; and
• receiving a “Toward Zero Deaths” Challenge Program grant, one of 21 awarded statewide by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety in March.

The purpose of MATSA is to “provide an educational experience of the highest caliber to Minnesota people that are involved in the prevention and after-effects of alcohol and other drug use/abuse. The organization sponsors an annual conference focusing on legal, education, chemical dependency, drug/alcohol and traffic safety issues.”