The SAFE Coalition Attends the EUDL Conference

The Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center (UDETC) held another successful National Leadership Conference (NLC)! The 13th Annual National Leadership Conference “Spotlighting Community Solutions to Underage Drinking” was held in Orlando, Florida on August 10-12, 2011. The conference registered nearly 1500 participants. Van Buren SAFE Coalition was represented by STOP Project Director, Tonja Jirak, Van Buren Sheriff Deputy Jon Tharp and Reserve Officers Lee McIntosh and William Cline.

The conference, held in conjunction with the National Liquor Law Enforcement Association, included distinguished speakers from OJJDP and other leadership in the field. This extends UDETC's reach nationally to federal, state and local agencies as well as their outreach to state and local communities through their relationship with 56 EUDL Coordinators in each state, the District of Columbia and five US Territories (American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands). The NLC is a gathering for States and communities with interest in enforcing underage drinking laws and in sharing of resources.

The conference included thought-provoking plenary sessions along with engaging presentations by law enforcement, judicial members, youth, researchers and community leaders. This year’s NLC theme, “Spotlighting Community Solutions to Underage Drinking”, and with every year at the conference being a learning experience, this year was no exception. We heard about innovations and effective practices that communities across the Nation developed and implemented. Communities shared their challenges and how they overcame them. Important new research on how alcohol affects the adolescent brain, ways that technology support law enforcement, how science based strategies impacts prevention and many other exciting new tools, technology and resources were revealed, shared and discussed. This year the NLC included;

-In-depth pre-conference activities for EUDL coordinators and invited guests,

-Successful experiential learning exercises,

-Exciting youth track and presentation and

-Law Enforcement, Volunteer of the Year, Youth Achievement and Success Story Awards.

For additional information on the OJJDP's UDETC and their resources contact 1-877-335-1287 or the SAFE Coalition at info@vbsafecoalition.com or 319-293-6412. You can check out what the coalition is about and is doing on our website - www.vbsafecoalition.com; on our blog - http://vbsafecoalition.blogspot.com/; or on Facebook - Van Buren County SAFE Coalition.