Strive 2 Arrive Alive Conference Promoting Safe Teen Driving

Grand Rapids, MI- Ionia County’s Youth Advisory Council is happy to once again organize and implement the latest rendition of the annual Strive 2 Arrive Alive conference this coming Wednesday, the 16th of October 2024. The event will be held at Celebration Cinema North in Grand Rapids and will begin at 8:45 AM running to 12:00 PM in the afternoon. The Strive 2 Arrive Alive Conference looks to once more offer an opportunity to educate today’s teen drivers about the dangers distracted driving can bring both to themselves and to those they share the roadways with. Ionia County ISD Director of Grants and Special Projects Deborah Wagner had the following to say about the event:

"Peer passengers, talking or texting on a cell phone, changing the radio, eating, or applying makeup are all dangerous distractions. If the brain is thinking about anything other than driving, it can make it difficult to react during a potential crash, especially for inexperienced teen drivers. This conference provides an opportunity for teen drivers to actually experience what happens when distracted through the various simulators here."

The Strive 2 Arrive Alive conference has been an ongoing safety initiative of the Ionia County Youth Advisory Council since the first conference was held in 2008. As part of the event, various methods such as statistics, simulations, and personal stories are utilized as educational methods to help today’s youth understand the risks they take if they drive distracted. As always we are happy to partner with the event's primary sponsor since 2008 State Farm. Joining them this year in helping sponsor this event will is Celebration Cinema, and PADNOS. We are also delighted to this year welcome Joel Feldman from EndDD (End Distracted Driver) as the keynote speaker.

Tom Wilcox, local State Farm agent will provide opening remarks on why State Farm believes that safe driving practices are so important for the Youth Advisory Council and today's youth. Speaking to the importance of the event Ionia County ISD Superintendent Ethan Ebenstein commented:

“Distracted driving is a considerable danger on our roadways and even more so for teenagers new to driving. The statistics as to the numbers and impacts of distracted driving is sobering. The Ionia County ISD is proud to continue to work with our community agencies and partners to bring this important event to youth.”

Ionia County Youth Advisory Council is a collection of high school students from across the various schools in Ionia County. The organization is entirely youth led and meets on a monthly basis to plan, develop, and implement service-learning projects. Any questions or requests for more information should be directed to the Ionia County ISD at 616-970-2688.