None 4 Under 21 and Choices Beyond – 2016

None 4 Under 21 & Choices Beyond 2016

Over 2,000 high school students traveled to Hiram College to hear from speakers whose lives have been permanently changed as a result of impaired or distracted driving.

The annual event “empowers young people to make appropriate choices by graphically demonstrating the consequences of poor decision-making.” According to Lynette Blasiman, project director of Portage County Safe Communities, the goal of None 4 Under 21 and Choices Beyond is to reduce teenage fatalities, especially during prom and graduation season.

The program’s messages were reinforced by mock crash scenes and a Walk of Remembrance featuring eleven area families honoring their loved ones killed in traffic crashes.

Elk & Elk Partner Marilena DiSilvio was invited to emcee the program. This year’s guest speakers included:

• Marc Streem, whose fourteen-year-old son was killed in a crash.

• Aaron Cooksey, who became an alcohol awareness speaker after killing his best friend in a crash.

• An Ohio inmate, currently serving a prison sentence for aggravated vehicular homicide.

For more information about None 4 Under 21 and Choices Beyond, contact Lynette Blasiman by phone at 330-296-9919 Ext. 118, or by email at [email protected].