Community Counseling Services’ Prevention Program will kick off the Prevention Roll Out Campaign Sept. 30-Oct. 1 with inspirational speakers and free family activities.
On Friday, Sept. 30, Dr. Samuel L. Jones will speak at 7 p.m. at Trotter Convention Center in downtown Columbus. Celebrity judge Glenda Hatchett will be the featured speaker at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Columbus High School gymnasium at 215 Hemlock St.
A newly-formed Prevention Choir and Dance Team made up of area youth will perform at both events, which are open to the Golden Triangle community.
The goal of the Prevention Roll Out Campaign and the CCS Prevention Program is to help prevent and reduce underage drinking and prescription drug abuse and misuse among students. Two prevention coordinators employed by CCS are helping hundreds of middle, high school and college-aged students receive education and information on the importance of good decision making and remaining drug and alcohol free
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its annual report on traffic fatalities for 2015 on Aug. 29. Drunk driving deaths increased to 10,265 in 2015, or one death due to drunk driving every 51 minutes, CCS cited in a Aug. 21 press release. That statistic demonstrates a 3.2 percent increase in drunk driving related deaths from 2014. Drivers under the age of 21 account for 11 percent of these fatalities. As a nation, we must do more to prevent these preventable tragedies, Roll Out organizers said.
About Jones
A native of Gunnison, Mississippi, Dr. Samuel L. Jones is a professional speaker, author and educator who overcame many obstacles on the way to a life of service. He is vice president of Student Affairs at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville and the leadership facilitator for the Mississippi Economic Council’s Leadership Mississippi program. Jones is also owner of Life Changing Presentations, offering seminars and presentations that focuses on leadership development training/coaching, professional keynotes and strategic planning.
The former college and professional athlete with years of executive management experience is described as a passionate facilitator who connects with his audiences.
About Hatchett
Judge Glenda Hatchett is familiar to many for presiding for 14 years over the twice Emmy-nominated, nationally syndicated television show “Judge Hatchett.”
Currently, Hatchett sits on the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons’ Board of Advisors, a position she has held since 2004. She also serves as a consultant to the National Basketball Association on pressing legal and social issues.
Hatchett is a graduate of Mt. Holyoke College and Emory University School of Law, where she was an Earl Warren Scholar. She completed a prestigious federal clerkship in the United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia, then spent nearly 10 years at Delta Air Lines, where she was the airline’s highest-ranking woman of color worldwide. Hatchett left Delta to accept an appointment as chief presiding judge of the Fulton County (Atlanta, Georgia) Juvenile Court, becoming the first African-American chief presiding judge of a state court in Georgia and head of one of the largest juvenile court systems in the country.
Arleen Weatherby, a CCS Prevention Program coordinator, said, “We know that we are dealing with a national epidemic, and its prevalence in our own backyards is scary,” Weatherby said. “I hope this event makes families, community leaders and educators start talking about prevention in a new way. Our goal for the Prevention Roll Out Campaign is to generate excitement and stimulate involvement locally.”
Community Counseling Services is a comprehensive 501(c)3 nonprofit community mental health center providing quality mental health and addiction treatment through diversified services in Choctaw, Clay, Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Noxubee, Webster and Winston Counties. CCS is not a state agency and receives no direct state budget funds. For more information about its services or the Roll Out Campaign, call 662-524-4347 or visit ccsms.org.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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