MADD Georgia Presents to the USS Alaska

On March 15th, MADD Georgia Program Specialist Theresa DeWild was invited to speak about alcohol awareness to the crew of the USS Alaska and its 160 men crew in Kings Bay, GA. Kings Bay is home to the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay which has served as the major East Coast operating, training, and refit base for nuclear ballistic missile submarines since 1979.

Theresa spoke to the crew about MADD, its mission statement, and the services it provides to victims/survivors and their families, along with MADD’s outreach programs that it delivers to communities across the state. She also shared the statistics of the tragic impact that impaired driving has across Georgia and the nation.

In her presentation, Theresa shared her story of losing her sister, Brandy, to a drunk driver. Brandy was a young, accomplished Airman 1st Class in the Air Force and her story hit home for many of the crew members in attendance. They engaged with Theresa to ask about the offender who killed her sister and wanted to know more about Brandy’s life and her duty station.

There was another speaker who came all the way from Jacksonville to share his story with the crew. Derek was the driver in a drunk driving crash that killed his cousin and caused severe injuries to himself which still impact him today. His speech resonated with the crew as Derek’s story showed how the mindset that drinking and driving can only hurt oneself is incorrect – drinking and driving has dire consequences for others, too.

MADD Georgia looks forward to returning to the base to share the importance of MADD’s mission in the future with crews coming into port at the station.

For more information about having MADD speak at your base/station, community organization, or school, contact the Georgia State Office at 770-615-3737.