Findlay Chevrolet kicks off partnership with Safe Kids

Safe Kids Clark County and Findlay Chevrolet combined efforts to present National Heatstroke Prevention Day July 31 at the dealership in the southwest valley. The kickoff event on National Heat Stroke Prevention Day marked the first of four events this year that key on safety in and around a vehicle. Car seat safety along with the continued campaign regarding excessive heat will be Aug. 16 at the dealership.

In what has become a national epidemic during the summer months, at least 17 children have died this year from vehicular heat stroke. The concerted effort by the dealership and Safe Kids brought badly needed attention to the cause.

Last year 44 children lost their lives after being left in unattended motor vehicles, according to the National Highway Transportation Administration.

“Our team does everything we can do to create awareness for health and safety in our community,” said Findlay Chevrolet General Manager Jamaal McCoy, who is also a father. “We are in the people business and it’s our responsibility to spread the word by hosting these demonstrations.”

In fact, the staff at Findlay Chevrolet could not have picked a better day for the event considering that it was 92 degrees at 10:30 a.m. The inside of a display vehicle had already soared to 133 degrees.

Safe Kids Coalition is headed by longtime advocate Jeanne Cosgrove-Marsala, a registered nurse who has spearheaded operations for 16 years.

“I think the biggest thing is that parents don’t understand that temperatures rise two degrees a minute during the summertime,” she said. “We started out with a 108-degree day July 31 and in 10 minutes it was 128 degrees inside the vehicle. Through Safe Kids I have talked with parents who have suffered the loss of a child to heat prostration and it’s terrible when something like this happens.”

For more information, call Findlay Chevrolet at 702-982-4000 or visit www.findlaychevy.com.

Findlay Chevrolet is at 6800 S. Torrey Pines Drive, south of Las Vegas Beltway in the southwest Las Vegas Valley. In June, the dealership sold the most new Chevrolets west of Texas. The dealership is part of Findlay Automotive Group founded more than 50 years ago by the late Pete Findlay, whose son, Cliff, spearheads automobile dealerships in Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Idaho.