Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) E-Newsletter

March 2021

Longtime friends of NETS, Merry Banks and Bella Dinh-Zarr, are promoting “good masks for a good cause” during the COVID pandemic. Merry Banks was the first NETS State Coordinator for Nevada several years ago. She was the Manager of Traffic Safety and Community Outreach for AAA serving Northern California, Nevada and Utah when she accepted the role. “I loved being part of NETS and seeing what it did for businesses. We had our kick-off at the MGM Grand Hotel. It was exciting to see a hotel and casino embrace traffic safety,” Merry stated.

Dr. Bella Dinh-Zarr, PhD, MPH, was the National Director of Traffic Safety at AAA when she first spoke at the annual NETS conference many years ago and she continued to participate in her role as the North American Director of the FIA Foundation, an international philanthropy. During her recent term as Vice Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Bella authored a blog about NETS and how employers can help make our roads safer.

Merry and Bella are currently assisting the non-profit organization AIP Foundation/Protec, whose President and Founder Greig Craft has also spoken at NETS. A few years ago, Greig spoke at the NETS annual meeting about his work to manufacture low-cost helmets, employ people with disabilities, and improve road safety around the world. Although AIP Foundation/Protec has manufactured bicycle and motorcycle helmets for many years, they began producing high quality medical grade face masks at the start of the pandemic, as featured in a Forbes Magazine article.

In the US, Merry and Bella created American Protec PPE to help sell these “good masks for a good cause” for AIP Foundation/Protec. These competitively priced products are 4-ply (rather than the usual 3-ply) disposable medical-grade masks and manufactured in a state-of-the art, accessible factory. American Protec is listed on the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) COVID-19 Recovery Vendor List for Public Transportation and the masks are FDA-registered, as well as CE/EU certified.

American Protec PPE was recently featured in a story in the AASHTO Journal and the Daily Transportation Update. More than 60,000 masks have been donated, including to the Oregon DOT, New Mexico DOT and to health care clinics in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, California.

All profits from this project are reinvested to provide fair wages for people with and without disabilities and to make donations of both helmets and masks to those in need around the world. Purchasing masks from this nonprofit factory which also provides fair wages to people with disabilities would be a “good news” story for any organization.

Your support of “Good Masks for a Good Cause” will make a positive difference in both road safety and the COVID pandemic. Visit us at www.americanprotecppe.com and contact Merry Banks if you know of any organizations that may be interested in purchasing face masks.