Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Future Dates
4/23 Wed. Nate Bosch / Center for Lakes & Streams
4/25 & 26 Fri. & Sat. District Meeting in Marion
4/26 Sat. District Oratorical Contest in Marion at District Meeting
4/29 Tues. CEO Forum / Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center
4/30 Wed. Josh Wildman CEO of Wildman Business Group
5/7 Wed. Splash Pad / Erin Porter
5/14 Wed. Sheriff’s Office / Aaron Rovenstine
5/18 Sun. City of Lakes Cruise-In
5/21 Wed. Optimist Singers / Memorial Day Future Dates
4/23 Wed. Nate Bosch / Center for Lakes & Streams
4/25 & 26 Fri. & Sat. District Meeting in Marion
4/26 Sat. District Oratorical Contest in Marion at District Meeting
4/29 Tues. CEO Forum / Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center
4/30 Wed. Josh Wildman CEO of Wildman Business Group
5/7 Wed. Splash Pad / Erin Porter
5/14 Wed. Sheriff’s Office / Aaron Rovenstine
5/18 Sun. City of Lakes Cruise-In
5/21 Wed. Optimist Singers / Memorial Day
5/28 Wed. Warsaw Community Schools / Dr. Craig Hintz
6/4 Wed. FWA Airport Authority – Jessica Miller
6/11 Wed. Mudlove Kyle Garberson
6/16 Mon. Boomerang Backpack Golf Outing
6/18 Wed. Guy Fisher / Goodwill Career Center
6/19 Thur. Optimist Golf Outing
6/25 Wed. Registration Packets for Triathlon
6/28 Sat. Triathlon
7/2 Wed. Rebecca Bazzoni / Jacobs Ladder
7/9 Wed. Christon Clark / Habitat for Humanity
7/16 Wed. Mayor Dr. Joe Thallemer / State of the City
7/23 Wed. Warsaw Area Career Center / Ronna Kawsky
7/23 Wed. Cheerleaders
7/30 Wed. Paragon
8/1 Fri. Penguin Point and Optimist Big Wheel Race
8/6 Wed. Boys Soccer
8/8 Fri. Indiana North District Golf Outing
8/8 & 9 Fri. & Sat. Indiana North District Convention at Warsaw
8/13 Wed. Boys Cross Country
8/20 Wed. Boys Tennis
9/3 Wed. Girls Soccer
9/10 Wed. Girls Golf
9/10 Wed. WCHS Athletics / Dave Anson
9/17 Wed. Crystal Heckaman / Rachel’s Challenge – Friends of Rachel
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
President Everett Nifong led our meeting.
>>>>OPENING
86 Optimists & 9 guests attended our meeting. Frank Grose was the guest of Coach Doug Ogle; Doug Baumgardner was the guest of John Elliott; Joetta Mitchell, Michelle Puckett, & Bill Cook were the guests of Everett Nifong; Jack Townsend, Rachel Arndt, George Krom, & Emily Rose from our Plymouth club were the guests of Dr. David Haines.
Door Greeters: Adam Heckaman.
Prayer: Dr. Steve Hollar led us in prayer.
Pledge was given to the American flag.
Promise yourself was said in unison.
Martin Becker led us in singing Hail to Optimism.
Birthday Honoree: Art Gakstatter. Martin Becker led us in the birthday song with “beep beep” results.
>>>> INFORMATION
Prayer Requests:
Larry Bishop’s recovery from his 2nd ankle surgery. He will be working on his recovery for awhile.
Max Mock’s ongoing physical therapy.
Nick King, Dan & Carol King at the loss of their home.
Membership: Past Lt. Gov. Sam Whitaker inducted Rusty & Tammy Meiers, Ricardo Scarlett, Tony Elliott, & Riley Betz. Membership Chair Kellie Malcom read Frank Grose’s & Doug Baumgardner’s applications. Rusty, Tammy, Ricardo, Tony, Riley, Frank & Doug are sponsored by David Meier, Greg Binkerd, Art Gakstatter, Sam Whitaker, Trina Hoy, Doug Ogle & John Elliott.
Past President Tracy Furnivall is heading our nominating committee. Please contact him, if you would like to run for a leadership position in our club.
Bill Cook from our Noon Club took orders for flowers for Administrative Assistant Day. One rose runs $5, three carnations run $10, and three roses run $15. Delivery will be at our April 23rd meeting.
President Everett Nifong reported that over and above providing a great breakfast, Golden Corral is donating 100 meals for our students we invite to our meetings. Thanks to Golden Corral for their generosity!
Past Gov. Ron Donkers & Lt. Gov. John Sullivan reminded us of Optimist International Foundation’s Dime-A-Day fundraising program. Some of the overhead for things like the Oratorical and Essay contests at the district and higher levels are in need of funding. The higher level Oratorical Contest winner receives $2,500 and the higher level Essay Contest winner receives $500. As a larger club, we need to cover a large part of these costs. The Dime-A Day program is a great way to do this. Please send your $36.50 to Optimist International Foundation, Dime-A-Day Campaign, P.O. Box 952126, St. Louis, MO 63195. Make sure you put “club # 04555” in the memo section of your check. An even better way to do this is to use a form Ron has to have your card charged $3.05 per month on an ongoing basis. The forms are by the badge box.
Bart Templeton is passing around a sign-up sheet for greeters.
Trina Hoy reported our Suggestion Box needs suggestions. It is a great way to get ideas to our leadership.
Past Lt. Gov. Dr. David Haines introduced us to Jack Townsend, Rachel Arndt, George Krom, & Emily Rose who are visiting from our Rochester Club.
Trace Hansen reported just under 500 skaters came out to our Spring Break Skate. Thanks go to Art Gakstatter and Ann Sweet.
Trace Hansen is looking for 2 more members to serve on his Eastlake Skate – Octagon scholarship committee. The Scholarship is for a minimum of two (2) $1000 scholarships to an Octagon member, who is a graduating Senior from WCHS. The application deadline is May 23rd, and can be picked up at the Scholarship office at WCHS. If you have a family member in the Octagon Club, an email request can be sent to Tracesk8s@yahoo.com and he will mail out to the address you provide.
Co-Chair Past President John Elliott started sign-up sheets for our May 18th City of Lakes Cruise-In to Downtown Warsaw. Remember to give your sponsorship money to John Teevan, the guy with the money tie. Mayor Dr. Joe Thallemer promised snow plows will be available. The Duesenberg Cord Auburn Museum will feature one or two cars. Special invitations have been extended to the Michiana PT Cruiser Car Club, the Fort Wayne Corvette Club and the Hoosier A Ford Club to host their car clubs at our Cruise In. Working with Owens Supermarket, we’ve also invited the Oscar Meyer “Hot-Dog” Mobile to our show. Purdue President Mitch Daniels has been personally invited to ride his motorcycle and be the Grand Marshall of our escorted Cruise to the Village of Winona Lake. Our event runs from around noon to around 6 p.m.
Our goal is to host 250 cars, trucks, and motorcycles; have some fun; and make $15,000 to support the youth activities of our Club.
As a Club member, we are asking you to commit to three things to help make this event successful:
Clear May 18 on your schedule so you can help with the event
Be a $25 Trophy Sponsor or upgrade to the Bronze, Silver or Gold level.
Secure one additional sponsor of the event at the $500 … $200 … $100 level.
Enclosed in the action packets are a yellow Trophy Sponsor or higher form for members of our club. The white Sponsor form is for others who we are asking to support at the $100, $200, or $500 levels. John Teevan will be monitoring our support. Please turn your sponsorship forms along with your check to “the guy with the money tie.”
President Everett Nifong reminded us of our Golf Outing will be Thursday, June 19 at 1 p.m. at Stonehenge. Please consider golfing, becoming a Tee Sponsor, donating a door prize or goody bag items. Brochures are coming.
Past Gov. and Triathlon Chairman Ron Donkers reminded us we all need to work our Triathlon. Our new members and our long term members all need to block off the last Saturday in June. We need to keep that open every year. This year it is June 28. Luke Becknell as our manpower chairman can connect anyone with a function that needs help. This year we will have youth races (11 & 12 year olds and 13 & 14 year olds, 15 year olds are with the adults) in addition to our usual event. This year Akash Jain is working with Jim Hayes on the database. Wow, we now have 2 “get-er-done” kind of guys doing this mountain of behind the scenes work! Jim Hayes reports we have 68 registrants.
Past Lt. Gov. Dr. David Haines provided our first post to our Year in Review series. It is featured on the front page of our website. Here is a direct link https://warsawoptimist.org/1975-1976-year-in-review/ .
President Everett Nifong asked us to keep an eye out for our 3rd quarter dues statements.
Dave Meier announced our 34th Annual Big Wheel Race is Friday, August 1 at Center Lake Park. Registration starts at 5:45 p.m. Race is at 7 p.m. Thanks to Penguin Point for sponsoring the bicycles, trophies, and gift certificates.
Past Governor Ron Donkers asked those who are going to the Indiana North District Conference at Ivy Tech in Marion on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26 see him to be sure you have the revised schedule. Please let Secretary Michele Bickel know if you are going. The District Oratorical Contest is at the conference on Saturday. Optimist give out $7500 to Oratorical contestants.
Past Gov. Ron Donkers reported our Indiana North District Convention will be in Warsaw Friday & Saturday, August 8th and 9th. There will be a fun Golf Outing on Friday the 8th.
Past Gov. Ron Donkers thanked Akash Jain for stepping up to help Jim Hayes with our database.
Alan Grossnickle invited us to the CEO Forum “Developing Leaders in Your Company”, Tuesday morning, April 29 at Grace’s Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. Key Note Speaker is Mike Kubacki, Former CEO of Lake City Bank, Moderator is Pat Miller, Political Analyst, WOWO, Panelist members include: Randy Lake, CEO of Oldcastle Materials, Mark Tarner, President of South Bend Chocolate Company, John Tucker, Co-President of Maple Leaf Farms, Peggy Taylor, Senior Global Vice President of Biomet, and David Findlay, CEO of Lake City Bank. Admission of $40 includes continental breakfast. RSVP on or before April 22 by visiting https://www.grace.edu/ceo-forum. For more information contact Marsha Yocum at 372-5100 ext 6094.
Troy Akers invited us to the 2nd Annual Boomerang Backpacks Golf Outing, Monday, June 16 at Tippecanoe Lake Country Club. It will help feed students from Warsaw, Wawasee, & Tippy Valley on the weekends. Cost is $400 for a foursome. Sponsorship opportunities are available. See Tracey Akers at trakers@warsaw.k12.in.us .
We met Joetta Mitchell who is running for County Recorder and Michelle Puckett who is running for County Auditor. It sounds like the great service we have come to expect in our County Government is going to continue.
Sergeants-at-Arms: Luke Becknell & Trace Hansen entertained us.
Former State Senator Dr. Pam Galloway paid Past President John Elliott’s fine for his celebrity status in the paper.
We congratulated Kevin Marose on his sabbatical.
Captain Aaron Rovenstine thinks he can catch Tony Elliott now that he is driving a golf cart.
Our judge candidates: Judge Joe Sutton, Attorney David Cates, and Attorney Mark Caruso were recognized. Joe is running for re-election to Superior Court 3, Dave is running for retiring Judge Duane Huffer’s Superior Court 1, and Mark is running for retiring Judge James Jarrette Superior Court 2.
Mark Caruso is glad Michelle Bickel’s daughter plays on his Rugby team.
Our Optimist Singers are going to visit Joetta Mitchell in the Recorder’s Office to make a “record.”
Dr. Pam Galloway’s KLA paper is about a pedestrian and bike overpass over US 30.
Kelsi Griffith’s KLA paper is about a non-profit forum.
Coach Doug Ogle told us a heart-warming report of an autistic student of his who told him about his spring break trip.
Program:
Corporal Doug Light brought us up to date on our Warsaw Police Department’s Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program. DARE started in Warsaw in 1988. DARE Officers build relationships with kids.
Our local DARE officers are:
David Morales, School Resource Officer & D.A.R.E., 14 years
Mike Spiegle, School Resource Officer, 1 year
Doug Light, School Resource Officer & D.A.R.E., 7 years
Jeff Tickner, School Resource Officer & D.A.R.E., 1 year
They serve our high school, middle schools, elementary schools, Sacred Heart, and home schoolers.
We have 575 6th grade students and 565 8th grade students in DARE.
The DARE curriculum is science based. The mission is to teach students good decision making skills and to help students lead safe and healthy lives. Medical, Education and Law Enforcement experts write the curriculum. DARE equips students with tools to enable them to make good decisions. What students choose to do with these tools is up to the students. Doing role plays help equip kids. A common challenge for kids is peer pressure or their fear of letting their friends down. Generally kids do not want to start taking drugs, but are under pressure when someone they think is their friend asks them to try something.
DARE builds relationships, builds confidence, helps build decision making skills, learn drug facts, how to resist peer pressure, ways to stay in charge of their lives, how to be good citizens in their communities, and how to deal with bullying.
DARE curriculum is in its 3rd edition. In the past the emphasis was more on drug facts. Now the drug information is more about tobacco and alcohol which are gateway drugs. The curriculum now focusses more on building kids interpersonal and decision making skills. This seems like a good idea.
DARE works because it proactively equips kids with the skills to deal with peer pressure. Kids need attention regardless of their background.
5/28 Wed. Warsaw Community Schools / Dr. Craig Hintz
6/4 Wed. FWA Airport Authority – Jessica Miller
6/11 Wed. Mudlove Kyle Garberson
6/16 Mon. Boomerang Backpack Golf Outing
6/18 Wed. Guy Fisher / Goodwill Career Center
6/19 Thur. Optimist Golf Outing
6/25 Wed. Registration Packets for Triathlon
6/28 Sat. Triathlon
7/2 Wed. Rebecca Bazzoni / Jacobs Ladder
7/9 Wed. Christon Clark / Habitat for Humanity
7/16 Wed. Mayor Dr. Joe Thallemer / State of the City
7/23 Wed. Warsaw Area Career Center / Ronna Kawsky
7/23 Wed. Cheerleaders
7/30 Wed. Paragon
8/1 Fri. Penguin Point and Optimist Big Wheel Race
8/6 Wed. Boys Soccer
8/8 Fri. Indiana North District Golf Outing
8/8 & 9 Fri. & Sat. Indiana North District Convention at Warsaw
8/13 Wed. Boys Cross Country
8/20 Wed. Boys Tennis
9/3 Wed. Girls Soccer
9/10 Wed. Girls Golf
9/10 Wed. WCHS Athletics / Dave Anson
9/17 Wed. Crystal Heckaman / Rachel’s Challenge – Friends of Rachel
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
President Everett Nifong led our meeting.
>>>>OPENING
86 Optimists & 9 guests attended our meeting. Frank Grose was the guest of Coach Doug Ogle; Doug Baumgardner was the guest of John Elliott; Joetta Mitchell, Michelle Puckett, & Bill Cook were the guests of Everett Nifong; Jack Townsend, Rachel Arndt, George Krom, & Emily Rose from our Plymouth club were the guests of Dr. David Haines.
Door Greeters: Adam Heckaman.
Prayer: Dr. Steve Hollar led us in prayer.
Pledge was given to the American flag.
Promise yourself was said in unison.
Martin Becker led us in singing Hail to Optimism.
Birthday Honoree: Art Gakstatter. Martin Becker led us in the birthday song with “beep beep” results.
>>>> INFORMATION
Prayer Requests:
Larry Bishop’s recovery from his 2nd ankle surgery. He will be working on his recovery for awhile.
Max Mock’s ongoing physical therapy.
Nick King, Dan & Carol King at the loss of their home.
Membership: Past Lt. Gov. Sam Whitaker inducted Rusty & Tammy Meiers, Ricardo Scarlett, Tony Elliott, & Riley Betz. Membership Chair Kellie Malcom readFrank Grose’s & Doug Baumgardner’s applications. Rusty, Tammy, Ricardo, Tony, Riley, Frank & Doug are sponsored by David Meier, Greg Binkerd, Art Gakstatter, Sam Whitaker, Trina Hoy, Doug Ogle & John Elliott.
Past President Tracy Furnivall is heading our nominating committee. Please contact him, if you would like to run for a leadership position in our club.
Bill Cook from our Noon Club took orders for flowers for Administrative Assistant Day. One rose runs $5, three carnations run $10, and three roses run $15. Delivery will be at our April 23rd meeting.
President Everett Nifong reported that over and above providing a great breakfast, Golden Corral is donating 100 meals for our students we invite to our meetings. Thanks to Golden Corral for their generosity!
Past Gov. Ron Donkers & Lt. Gov. John Sullivan reminded us of Optimist International Foundation’s Dime-A-Day fundraising program. Some of the overhead for things like the Oratorical and Essay contests at the district and higher levels are in need of funding. The higher level Oratorical Contest winner receives $2,500 and the higher level Essay Contest winner receives $500. As a larger club, we need to cover a large part of these costs. The Dime-A Day program is a great way to do this. Please send your $36.50 to Optimist International Foundation, Dime-A-Day Campaign, P.O. Box 952126, St. Louis, MO 63195. Make sure you put “club # 04555” in the memo section of your check. An even better way to do this is to use a form Ron has to have your card charged $3.05 per month on an ongoing basis. The forms are by the badge box.
Bart Templeton is passing around a sign-up sheet for greeters.
Trina Hoy reported our Suggestion Box needs suggestions. It is a great way to get ideas to our leadership.
Past Lt. Gov. Dr. David Haines introduced us to Jack Townsend, Rachel Arndt, George Krom, & Emily Rose who are visiting from our Rochester Club.
Trace Hansen reported just under 500 skaters came out to our Spring Break Skate. Thanks go to Art Gakstatter and Ann Sweet.
Trace Hansen is looking for 2 more members to serve on his Eastlake Skate – Octagon scholarship committee. The Scholarship is for a minimum of two (2) $1000 scholarships to an Octagon member, who is a graduating Senior from WCHS. The application deadline is May 23rd, and can be picked up at the Scholarship office at WCHS. If you have a family member in the Octagon Club, an email request can be sent to Tracesk8s@yahoo.com and he will mail out to the address you provide.
Co-Chair Past President John Elliott started sign-up sheets for our May 18th City of Lakes Cruise-In to Downtown Warsaw. Remember to give your sponsorship money to John Teevan, the guy with the money tie. Mayor Dr. Joe Thallemer promised snow plows will be available. The Duesenberg Cord Auburn Museum will feature one or two cars. Special invitations have been extended to the Michiana PT Cruiser Car Club, the Fort Wayne Corvette Club and the Hoosier A Ford Club to host their car clubs at our Cruise In. Working with Owens Supermarket, we’ve also invited the Oscar Meyer “Hot-Dog” Mobile to our show. Purdue PresidentMitch Daniels has been personally invited to ride his motorcycle and be the Grand Marshall of our escorted Cruise to the Village of Winona Lake. Our event runs from around noon to around 6 p.m.
Our goal is to host 250 cars, trucks, and motorcycles; have some fun; and make $15,000 to support the youth activities of our Club.
As a Club member, we are asking you to commit to three things to help make this event successful:
-
Clear May 18 on your schedule so you can help with the event
-
Be a $25 Trophy Sponsor or upgrade to the Bronze, Silver or Gold level.
-
Secure one additional sponsor of the event at the $500 … $200 … $100 level.
Enclosed in the action packets are a yellow Trophy Sponsor or higher form for members of our club. The white Sponsor form is for others who we are asking to support at the $100, $200, or $500 levels. John Teevan will be monitoring our support. Please turn your sponsorship forms along with your check to “the guy with the money tie.”
President Everett Nifong reminded us of our Golf Outing will be Thursday, June 19 at 1 p.m. at Stonehenge. Please consider golfing, becoming a Tee Sponsor, donating a door prize or goody bag items. Brochures are coming.
Past Gov. and Triathlon Chairman Ron Donkers reminded us we all need to work our Triathlon. Our new members and our long term members all need to block off the last Saturday in June. We need to keep that open every year. This year it is June 28. Luke Becknell as our manpower chairman can connect anyone with a function that needs help. This year we will have youth races (11 & 12 year olds and 13 & 14 year olds, 15 year olds are with the adults) in addition to our usual event. This year Akash Jain is working with Jim Hayes on the database. Wow, we now have 2 “get-er-done” kind of guys doing this mountain of behind the scenes work! Jim Hayes reports we have 68 registrants.
Past Lt. Gov. Dr. David Haines provided our first post to our Year in Review series. It is featured on the front page of our website. Here is a direct linkhttps://warsawoptimist.org/
President Everett Nifong asked us to keep an eye out for our 3rd quarter dues statements.
Dave Meier announced our 34th Annual Big Wheel Race is Friday, August 1 at Center Lake Park. Registration starts at 5:45 p.m. Race is at 7 p.m. Thanks to Penguin Point for sponsoring the bicycles, trophies, and gift certificates.
Past Governor Ron Donkers asked those who are going to the Indiana North District Conference at Ivy Tech in Marion on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26see him to be sure you have the revised schedule. Please let Secretary Michele Bickel know if you are going. The District Oratorical Contest is at the conference on Saturday. Optimist give out $7500 to Oratorical contestants.
Past Gov. Ron Donkers reported our Indiana North District Convention will be in Warsaw Friday & Saturday, August 8th and 9th. There will be a fun Golf Outing on Friday the 8th.
Past Gov. Ron Donkers thanked Akash Jain for stepping up to help Jim Hayes with our database.
Alan Grossnickle invited us to the CEO Forum “Developing Leaders in Your Company”, Tuesday morning, April 29 at Grace’s Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. Key Note Speaker is Mike Kubacki, Former CEO of Lake City Bank, Moderator is Pat Miller, Political Analyst, WOWO, Panelist members include: Randy Lake, CEO of Oldcastle Materials, Mark Tarner, President of South Bend Chocolate Company, John Tucker, Co-President of Maple Leaf Farms, Peggy Taylor, Senior Global Vice President of Biomet, and David Findlay, CEO of Lake City Bank. Admission of $40 includes continental breakfast. RSVP on or before April 22by visiting https://www.grace.edu/ceo-forum
Troy Akers invited us to the 2nd Annual Boomerang Backpacks Golf Outing, Monday, June 16 at Tippecanoe Lake Country Club. It will help feed students from Warsaw, Wawasee, & Tippy Valley on the weekends. Cost is $400 for a foursome. Sponsorship opportunities are available. See Tracey Akers attrakers@warsaw.k12.in.us .
We met Joetta Mitchell who is running for County Recorder and Michelle Puckett who is running for County Auditor. It sounds like the great service we have come to expect in our County Government is going to continue.
Sergeants-at-Arms: Luke Becknell & Trace Hansen entertained us.
Former State Senator Dr. Pam Galloway paid Past President John Elliott’s fine for his celebrity status in the paper.
We congratulated Kevin Marose on his sabbatical.
Captain Aaron Rovenstine thinks he can catch Tony Elliott now that he is driving a golf cart.
Our judge candidates: Judge Joe Sutton, Attorney David Cates, and Attorney Mark Caruso were recognized. Joe is running for re-election to Superior Court 3,Dave is running for retiring Judge Duane Huffer’s Superior Court 1, and Mark is running for retiring Judge James Jarrette Superior Court 2.
Mark Caruso is glad Michelle Bickel’s daughter plays on his Rugby team.
Our Optimist Singers are going to visit Joetta Mitchell in the Recorder’s Office to make a “record.”
Dr. Pam Galloway’s KLA paper is about a pedestrian and bike overpass over US 30.
Kelsi Griffith’s KLA paper is about a non-profit forum.
Coach Doug Ogle told us a heart-warming report of an autistic student of his who told him about his spring break trip.
Program:
Corporal Doug Light brought us up to date on our Warsaw Police Department’s Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program. DARE started in Warsaw in 1988. DARE Officers build relationships with kids.
Our local DARE officers are:
David Morales, School Resource Officer & D.A.R.E., 14 years
Mike Spiegle, School Resource Officer, 1 year
Doug Light, School Resource Officer & D.A.R.E., 7 years
Jeff Tickner, School Resource Officer & D.A.R.E., 1 year
They serve our high school, middle schools, elementary schools, Sacred Heart, and home schoolers.
We have 575 6th grade students and 565 8th grade students in DARE.
The DARE curriculum is science based. The mission is to teach students good decision making skills and to help students lead safe and healthy lives. Medical, Education and Law Enforcement experts write the curriculum. DARE equips students with tools to enable them to make good decisions. What students choose to do with these tools is up to the students. Doing role plays help equip kids. A common challenge for kids is peer pressure or their fear of letting their friends down. Generally kids do not want to start taking drugs, but are under pressure when someone they think is their friend asks them to try something.
DARE builds relationships, builds confidence, helps build decision making skills, learn drug facts, how to resist peer pressure, ways to stay in charge of their lives, how to be good citizens in their communities, and how to deal with bullying.
DARE curriculum is in its 3rd edition. In the past the emphasis was more on drug facts. Now the drug information is more about tobacco and alcohol which are gateway drugs. The curriculum now focusses more on building kids interpersonal and decision making skills. This seems like a good idea.
DARE works because it proactively equips kids with the skills to deal with peer pressure. Kids need attention regardless of their background.
