Joe McDonald, who serves as the crossing guard at Coates Elementary School, has been named one of six winners of Virginia’s 2018 Most Outstanding Crossing Guard award. Praised for building relationships with members of the school community, McDonald is known for performing his job flawlessly and for being an integral part of the community. If he notices a walker is absent for multiple days, McDonald checks in at the front office to make sure the student is okay. During his days off, McDonald mentors a student during lunchtime as part of the Coates mentoring program. He also worked on a safer kiss-and-ride procedure for the school to ensure the safety of all students.