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(From School Presentations) Joe,
I have been involved in running accident preventation assemblies for many years. While all of them have had great impact, I can say without question that your presentation this past week had the most significant impact on students and staff. You connected with the students from the moment you took the microphone until the conclusion of the presentation. I can't begin to thank you enough for turning your own family tragedy into something positive that will, undoubtedly, live on long beyond any of our lifetimes. Jason would be proud.
Bob Worrall Head, Social Science Co-ordinator, Student Activities Abbey Park High School, Oakville ON
----------------------------------------------- Dear Joe; I am a grade 11 student at SCITS high school in Sarnia. I attended a presentation you gave at our school two years ago and wanted to say how much it opened my eyes and how much it is still in my heart today. This thanks is a little bit late, but I decided that it needed to be said. Just recently I nearly lost someone very close to me as a result of road rage; as it turned out he was only bumped and bruised, but when I learned my friend was run off of the road, the first thought that came into my mind, was an image of Jason and the story your family shared with us. I just wanted to say, that if no one else out of those 650 students
was changed, I was. I saw my friend that day, and told him that I needed
to tell him something, I told him about Jason and the story you shared
with us; he visited your website, and took the quiz and found himself
to be a bit of an aggressive driver. He has since changed how he drives
and is more careful to think before he carries out his actions. It is
because of Jason's story that he has changed. If there were anything
i could do to be a part of your foundation I would really really like
to, as sort of a thanks for saving the life of one of the people i love
the most. ----------------------------------------------- Mr. Edmonds, On behalf of the Catholic Central student council and all the students
at C.C.H., I would like to thank you for the presentation you recently
gave at our school. It is often very difficult to make high school students
listen during assemblies but, while you spoke, the gym was completely
silent. I have never seen our students so caught up in a presentation.
They watched with rapt attention and I believe that you really made
an impact on them. -----------------------------------------------
"... The impact of your presentation has caused me to reflect upon your words throughout the day and well into the evening. Although I have not lost a child, I have buried many a student due to a variety of circumstances; most of which were to due to vehicular accidents. In addition, over the last twenty years of teaching, I have seen many a presentation in regard to driving issues. Your presentation by far, was simply outstanding." Sharon Beeler, Banting Secondary School ------------------------------------------------ Dear Joe, Your presentation was indeed geared to the students and they responded very well. The personal touch you bring with having lost a son through this behaviour certainly drove home the reality of the consequences that can occur. Through your son's death, you were able to reach the kids at a level that captured their attention and their hearts. I believe we all grieved with you; I know I did. We could only imagine the pain of your loss and what it could be like for anyone of us in the audience. The participation you requested from the audience as they stood and reflected on the questions you put before them was especially effective since every one of us in that room had to reflect on behaviours that met the definition of "road rage". It has many colours!!! Your PowerPoint presentation is extremely well done and the closing with a song by Jason's mother was very powerful. Following the presentation, I found that several students wanted to discuss this issue. I would recommend that time be allocated in the classroom for further discussion of the topic. Kids wanted to talk about experiences they had had and how you were able to make them focus on this issue. It would provide for a great opportunity to have kids listen to each other and for teachers to share some of their experiences as well. I would recommend your presentation to other schools and I would be pleased to speak with anyone that might have questions about your presentation and its impact on kids. We all had the opportunity to reflect on our past behaviours and what we should have done instead of giving in to "road rage". You may have saved one of us the pain you went through. Many thanks for sharing your life with us and for helping us look at life situations differently. I wish you well in your future presentations. Sincerely, Bob Guilbeault, Vice-Principal Sarnia Collegiate & Technical School (SCITS) ------------------------------------------------
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