In Lexington, SC recently tragic deaths occurred of three high school seniors in two separate accidents on the same night who were drinking and driving. James Young and Donald Schwartz were leaving a party when Schwartz ran off the road and struck a tree. Both Young and Schwartz died. Only 30 minutes earlier, another 17 year old, Kyle Paradise was driving under the influence when he hit a road sign and flipped his automobile, immediately killing his passenger and best friend Brent Nachel.

This small town in rural South Carolina is not unlike many small towns where underage drinking is a persistent plague in the community.  Having grown up in a small town myself, I can attest to the rather boring life that surrounded kids and without education and constant reminding, coming from coaches, parents, teachers, and other good young adult role models, peer pressure to drink can be challenging.

Faced with these calamities in his district, Senator Jakey Knotts, a veteran Senator from the midlands of South Carolina turned to DIAGEO and worked passionately and earnestly with us and The Century Council to bring a program to this beleaguered community to remind kids of the dangers associated with illegal underage consumption of alcohol. The program, Brandon Tells His Story, is of Brandon Silveria, a young high school student with a very bright future both academically and athletically.  Brandon’s story is tragic and moving.  When only 17 years old, Brandon was involved in a near fatal car crash after drinking at a high school party with friends. He was subsequently in a coma for 3 months and even years later he still faces daily dilemmas with permanent and visible speech and walking disabilities. Despite these disabilities, Brandon and his Father Tony travel across the country talking to teenagers about the dangers of drinking and driving. His emotional story both educates and encourages responsible decisions by teens and has made a huge impact across high school auditoriums nationwide.

Partnerships with the industry, community leaders, parents and teachers’ organizations are all critical –frankly imperative, to educate and remind our youth on the potentially lethal outcomes of illegal underage drinking and drunk driving. The more we as a company and community can do to continue to educate our kids about these dangers, the better off we all are at protecting our future generations.  I’m proud to work for a company that cares so much about the communities in which we live and work and demonstrates that commitment to responsibility every day across the country.