To the Editor:
To quote Robert F. Kennedy, "The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things
better." I believe this happened in Bowling Green this past New Year’s Eve.
Armed with a host of volunteers and three vans on loan from Person Centered Services in Perrysburg, 140
persons were able to take advantage of the Swallow Your Pride, Call for a Ride Program. From our first
riders at 11:37 p.m. to our last riders at 3:15 a.m., the participants were met with smiles, laughs and
warm vehicles. Our volunteers were greeted with cold and thankful students who were in disbelief that
people would volunteer on New Year’s Eve to make sure that they made it home safely.
This program is a complete community endeavor and I am thankful for each and every person that supports
Safe Communities of Wood County. It would be impossible for Swallow Your Pride, Call for a Ride to be
the success that is without the support of Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn, Chief Brad Conner, Deputy Chief Tony
Hetrick, Chief Monica Mull, Lt. Jerrod Savidge and Capt. Gary Allen. These law enforcement executives
are always willing to offer their support and assistance. A special thank you goes out to Heather
Barnhiser and staff at Person Centered Services for offering their vans (and staffing them), Matt
Shipley at Shipley Automotive making sure the cellphone had enough minutes, Larry Weiss for making sure
there was promotion on local radio, Chief Tom Sanderson, Mike Stock, and Matt Nissen for volunteering
with the vans, local media for their coverage of the program, Barbara Ruland of Downtown Bowling Green
for her unending support, the local bar owners for their belief in the program, BGSU Athletics for
loaning radios for the evening, Pagliai’s Pizza, Jimmy John’s, Mr. Spot’s, Circle K/Subway East Wooster,
and Frisch’s East Wooster for helping to promote the program, Van Spears and Ryan Davis at The Copy
Shop, and the Safe Communities Coalition for always supporting the program. To anyone I inadvertently
missed, please accept my heartfelt apology, but know that you are appreciated.
We have made our corner of the State of Ohio safer, and I look forward to being able to continue to grow
this program until we have the entire county with safe rides … stay tuned.
Sandy Wiechman, Coordinator
Safe Communities of Wood County