To Inform Families First, known as TIFF, will mark 20 years of advocacy and public safety efforts with a community celebration on Friday, Oct. 2, at Bradenton City Hall.
The event will be held from 9 to 10 a.m. at City Hall, 101 Main Street in Bradenton, and will honor TIFF founder Christine Olson and the organization’s two decades of work to help law enforcement quickly notify families when a loved one is involved in an emergency.
TIFF grew from a Manatee County tragedy. Olson’s 22-year-old daughter, Tiffany, died following a motorcycle crash on U.S. 19 in Palmetto on Dec. 7, 2005. More than six hours passed before Olson learned of her daughter’s death because authorities did not have readily available emergency contact information.
Following her daughter’s death, Olson began advocating for a system that would allow people to voluntarily link emergency contacts to their driver’s license or state identification record. Working with state officials, the effort led to Florida’s Emergency Contact Information program, which became active in October 2006. The information allows law enforcement to access designated contacts during emergencies.
The concept has since expanded beyond Florida. As of 2025, 18 states had adopted voluntary emergency contact programs, while more than 21 million Floridians had enrolled. Efforts are also underway at the federal level to encourage similar programs nationwide.
The Oct. 2 anniversary program is scheduled to include representatives from U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s office and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, along with Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells and Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown.
The event will remember Tiffany while recognizing Olson’s work to transform her family’s loss into an initiative designed to help other families receive critical information more quickly during emergencies.
