Lacey Gallagher will forever be in our hearts and minds.  Her spirit lives on and her kind, caring and genuine nature will continue to be a part of this community.  Lacey’s family has been blessed by the caring and compassion of so many people.  This compassion was so evident through the dedication of many in the work of The Lacey Gallagher Memorial Scholarship Fund.  Over the past six years, in Lacey Gallagher’s memory, the Fund was committed to providing scholarships to students, thereby investing in the youth of the community so that they could continue their Catholic school education.  The Lacey Gallagher Memorial Scholarship Fund has generously awarded in excess of $170,000 in scholarships, an accomplishment that far exceeded all expectations.  The Fund has also assisted several families in the community with tuition assistance during difficult times.

Although the Fund will be no longer, it leaves behind a legacy in honor of a very special young girl in our community, Lacey Gallagher.  On the evening of Lacey’s Senior Prom in April of 2007, Lacey was involved in an automobile accident and lost her life.  That night forever changed the lives of so many who love Lacey.  Through grief and determination, Lacey’s family worked diligently with legislators on stricter teen driving laws so as to prevent an accident like Lacey’s from happening to other families.

House Bill No. 9 was named “Lacey’s Law” in honor of Lacey Gallagher and was signed by the Governor on October 11, 2011.  Teen drivers have fatal crashes at four times the rate of adult drivers, due to age and inexperience.  Lacey’s Law provides stricter laws for young drivers.  “We can’t bring every teen home but we can update our laws to increase training, reduce distractions of other teen passengers and require them to buckle up,” said Rep. Kathy Watson who sponsored Lacey’s Law.  The law requires everyone under the age of 18 to be buckled up while driving in a vehicle.  Law enforcement can pull over a driver if the officer sees that the driver is not properly buckled.

In addition, Lacey’s Law increases the number of hours for behind-the-wheel training from 50 to 65 hours; ten of which must be at night and five hours must be during inclement weather.  The law also restricts the number of passengers that a teen driver may have in their vehicle.  In the first six months of their license, a teen may only carry one, non-family passenger under the age of 18.  After those first six months (and until the teen driver turns 18), three non-family passengers under 18 are permitted in the vehicle.

Lacey’s Law provides the proper tools to teen drivers to be safe behind the wheel.  This law in memory of Lacey Gallagher will now forever have an impact on the safety of our teen drivers.

Through the many scholarships awarded through the Lacey Gallagher Memorial Scholarship Fund and through the passing of the legislation known as “Lacey’s Law,” Lacey Gallagher may not physically be with us, but she is with us all in our hearts and her spirit continues to make a difference in the lives of others.

Lacey’s family wants the community to know how very grateful they are.

“For all that have been so supportive through the efforts of the scholarship fund and through the process of having Lacey’s Law pass into legislation, we are forever grateful.  It has been very overwhelming and wonderful to see how you all have done so much in Lacey’s memory to make a difference and you should be comforted to know that you in fact did make a difference.  With our utmost sincerity, we thank each and every one of our supporters from the bottom of our hearts.”