The Bergen County Traffic Officers Association announced today that it is giving the 2021 St. Mauro Award to Street Smart NJ Coordinator Will Yarzab.
The award is named for Paul St. Mauro who worked for North Jersey AAA for 50 years. St. Mauro “exemplified dedication to traffic safety principles,” according to the association. The traffic safety award was created in his honor in 1995 and is the highest honor the Bergen County Traffic Officers Association presents to a civilian.
Yarzab has worked on the Street Smart NJ campaign since March 2016. He works with partner agencies to promote pedestrian safety. This includes working with counties, municipalities, law enforcement, state agencies, non-profits and the transportation management associations. In addition to recruiting new partners, he supports campaigns at the municipal and county level and on college campuses.
During his tenure at the NJTPA, Yarzab has helped grow the Street Smart NJ program from five initial pilot locations to more than
160 campaigns statewide.
He joined the NJTPA after spending 25 years in law enforcement. Yarzab retired as a lieutenant from the Randolph Township Police Department. Will helped bring the Teen Driver Safety Program to Randolph and in 2008 he coauthored a how-to guide,
Successfully Bringing the “Alive at 25” Program to Your Municipality.