(KAIR)--An Atchison educator has been awarded for his work on behalf of safety efforts for teenaged drivers.

Tyler Lueckenhoff is the District Activities Director for Atchison's USD 409, but is also the upfront/emcee and a workshop presenter for the youth program, TRACTION , which stands for "Teens Taking Action to Prevent Traffic Crashes."

According to the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, the program "is a youth traffic safety leadership training program that has been successful in Missouri the past 30 years and has saved the lives of thousands of people on Missouri- roadways," by empowering "youth to take an active role in promoting safe driving habits and making positive change within their schools and communities," as the program "provides teens with the tools necessary to create an action plan on how they will successfully implement projects and activities to make their schools and communities a safer place to live and travel."

Luekenhoff, according to the Atchison public school district, was serving as emcee for the Missouri Highway Safety and Traffic Conference awards, held late last month in Columbia, Missouri, when he was surprised to receive the Tempe Humphrey Award, which recognizes an individual or group who has focused efforts on younger drivers.

In a release regarding Luekenhoff's honor, the roadway safety coalition calls him "a true leader and fantastic role model inside and outside of TRACTION," saying "he has educated thousands of teens over the past 20 years and his passion for highway safety in Missouri is unmatched."

According to the release, Luekenhoff, now in his 13th year at USD 409, is originally from Jefferson City, Missouri, and first came through the TRACTION program as a participant his sophomore year of high school in 2004.