Musicians Join Members of Congress to Highlight Efforts to Prevent Impaired Driving

Popular CA Based Singer/Songwriter Turns Her Personal Tragedy to Triumph

WASHINGTON, April 5 -- As impaired drivers continue to kill more than 17,000 people in the U.S. each year, AWAKE Community (Artists Working for Awareness Knowledge and Education) is joining with more than 30 congressional members of the Stop DUI Caucus, over 150 members of the Arts Caucus and over 100 members of the Methamphetamines Caucus to honor and unify those working to prevent these needless deaths at a unique event on April 5 in the Cannon Office building on Capitol Hill.

AWAKE Community was founded by popular indie singer/songwriter Emily Richards (www.emilyrichardsmusic.com) in honor of her 19 year-old sister Annie who was killed by a driver impaired by alcohol and methamphetamines in July of 2000. Emily is a member of the Los Angeles Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and a volunteer for Recording Artists Actors and Athletes Against Drunk Driving.

Emily has dedicated her music career to her sister's memory and has spoken and performed at many high schools, universities and charitable events, educating about impaired driving. This year, AWAKE created a large art sculpture made from 17,000 keys in memory of the lives lost to impaired driving in 2005 that will be premiered on the Hill. Emily will also perform.

"AWAKE's aim with this event is to use the arts and the artistic community to build a bridge from Capitol Hill to local communities. Synergizing the collective missions of the many groups working to reduce impaired driving is our goal," said Richards, who in addition to founding AWAKE Community is the President of music-technology company MP3tunes (www.mp3tunes.com). "After my sister's tragic death in 2000 I made a conscious decision to dedicate my career and my life to fighting impaired driving so other families can avoid the terrible pain my family has suffered."

Teaming with the Arts Caucus and Meth Caucus at this event, the Congressional Stop DUI Caucus was launched in May 2004 in conjunction with a nationwide anti-DUI media campaign with the National Association of Broadcasters and is chaired by U.S. Representatives Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and Jon Porter (R-NV). The Caucus is a bi-partisan group of Members of Congress committed to reducing drunk driving through increased public awareness and education efforts. The Caucus provides Members of Congress with information on effective programs and countermeasures to reduce drunk driving.

"Events to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving are a critical part of DUI prevention efforts, especially those aimed at young people. By bringing together artists and entertainers, AWAKE Community is helping to deliver a message that we all hope will save lives and make our streets and communities safer," said Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Co-Chair of the Congressional STOP DUI Caucus.

Drunk driving is the most prevalent violent crime in our country. During the last 10 years, alcohol-related crashes killed more than 155,000 people and injured nearly 5 million at a cost to taxpayers and our economy in the tens of billions of dollars. Unfortunately, alcohol-related highway deaths are on the rise.

"As a nation, we can never do enough to prevent the unnecessary loss of lives caused by a drunk driver," said U.S. Representative Jon Porter. "As we have too often seen, drunk driving cuts short the lives of our loved ones. Every 30 minutes, nearly 50 times a day, someone in America dies in an alcohol-related crash. We must do more to educate our young people about the dangers of drunk driving. I appreciate very much the efforts of Emily Richards and the AWAKE Community. They, among many others, help us all to better educate and inform our nation of the serious consequences caused by drunk driving."

The event is being sponsored by generous contributions from: Anheuser-Busch, the Beer Institute, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Heineken USA, Miller Brewing Company, the Wine and Spirit Wholesalers of America, Nationwide Insurance, Ace Hardware, and numerous individuals dedicated to the fight against impaired driving.

"Though efforts to stop drunk driving have increased across the country, this issue remains a very serious problem that deserves national attention. This event reminds us of how critical it is for all groups to work together if we are to be successful in our mission to put an end to impaired driving," Bingaman said.

  For additional information please visit www.awakecommunity.org