#129 – Every 15 Minutes
365 Reasons to Live in Sedona

Greetings from Sedona Property Partners – Broker/Owners of REMAX Sedona

One thing that we love about Sedona is its sense of community. There are so many events that Sedona hosts to make Sedona feel like home. As older Sedona Residents, we always try to reach out to the younger generation. One of the big events that the Sedona Fire Department puts on for our youth at Sedona Red Rock High School is Every 15 Minutes.

Every 15 Minutes in a program to raise awareness about driving under the influence, with a focus on the influence of alcohol. The issue across America is that every 15 minutes, someone somewhere in the United States is killed in a car accident related to drinking and driving. The Sedona Fire Department, as stated in the press release, “offers real-life experience without the real-life risks” by creating a mock auto accident in the middle of the football field at Red Rock High School.

They involve students to play roles in the crash, and at the end of the afternoon two students are announced “dead”. The student that was “driving” was taken to jail for the afternoon. All along the way, the students are followed and taped on video to record their reactions to the accident. Even though students know that this is a fake accident, the pretend death of their peers bring to life this issue across America with drinking and driving.

The program was April 18th and 19th, 2013. The first day, the crash happened. Prior to the students being shown the head-on crash on the field, they were shown a video of their peers. One group of students were on their way to a movie, while the others were on a beer run during a party. Then, two students were announced dead at the car crash scene. After the students were shook up from the shock of the first day, the Fire Department hosted a court arraignment where the “drunk driver” was sentenced to years in jail along with several fines. After this, two funerals were held for the students that passed away. In the meantime, students involved in the program wrote letters to their parents that began with “Dear Mom and Dad, every fifteen minutes someone in the United States dies from an alcohol related traffic collision, and today I died. I never had the chance to tell you…….”. At this point, the “dead” students got to stand behind a sheet and read their letter to their family, bringing the situation more to life.

Another part in the program is were real victims of drinking and driving accidents share their story. This year, Kelly Taylor shared his story about being paralyzed at the age of 27, 16 years ago, because he drank and drove. This showed the students a lot of the different angles in which driving under the influence can change your life forever. We feel strongly about supporting the Fire Department in this outreach to High School Juniors & Seniors.

This program is held every 2-3 years right before prom and graduation to help prevent students from drinking and driving and also to encourage good behavior. This program makes the youth change their mindset from feeling invincible to knowing that the risks they take can be life threatening. Sedona is known to host many events, such as Every 15 Minutes, to bring the community together and help encourage the youth to grow up to be the best person they can be.

If you would like to join this community, visit our Sedona Real Estate Website to find homes and property for sale. You can always email or call us at the RE/MAX Sedona Office at 928-282-4166 x 253 for more information regarding Sedona. We look forward to hearing from you!

Sedona Property Partners – Your Source for Sedona Real Estate

Category: 365 Reasons to Live in Sedona, Community Ammenities

This post was written by Sedona Property Partners