DDC names Jean Mech Instructor of the Year

Anaheim, CA – Jean Mech has been named the 2015 Instructor of the Year for the National Safety Council Defensive Driving Courses. The announcement was made Oct. 15 at the DDC Awards Celebration during the 2016 NSC Congress & Expo.

Mech, of the Massachusetts Driver Retraining Program, also was recognized as the category winner for Attitudinal Dynamics of Driving.

Mech has been an instructor for NSC since 1998. She also is an instructor monitor and has been the master trainer for the ADD program in Massachusetts since 2015.

“My favorite part of being an ADD instructor is when I see the participants change and begin to accept responsibility for their actions, and an eagerness – or at least a willingness – to consider changing driving behaviors,” Mech said. “To know that we help more people than not is truly a rewarding experience.”

Mech previously had a career with Kodak and the U.S. Naval Reserves. She became a DDC instructor when she wanted to return to work following the birth of her twins. She observed a close friend teach an ADD course and fell in love with the curriculum.

“Ms. Mech is a strong, positive influence on both the students in her defensive driving classes as well as her instructor colleagues,” said Elizabeth Vanderhoff, who nominated Mech. “She has been a strong asset in implementing training for the updated ADD curriculum last year and is also in the forefront of helping to create and implement the Chronic Offender Program with James Solomon in Massachusetts in the coming year.”