by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — DARE graduation will be held next Wednesday night on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Wellington High School auditorium. This will be Wellington School DARE Officer Bobby Wilson’s last year teaching DARE and his last graduation ceremony.

People seem to take for granted that the DARE graduation, one of the largest attended events for USD 353 and perhaps the biggest DARE graduation in the state of Kansas, was never even in existence before Wilson took over the program.

Sumner Newscow conducted a question and answer interview with Wilson about his years as a DARE Officer and the graduation ceremony that has come to be. 

SNC —You are retiring from DARE. Why is that?

Wilson — I was promoted to detective in August and with that comes more responsibility. Time is an issue. I don’t have a lot of control over what happens and when but when it does we go to work. Plus with the change of SRO I believe that DARE and the SRO position goes together. It will give that officer a chance to build trust with those students coming into the middle school.  DARE training is some of the best police training one can go through.

SNC — How did you start becoming involved with DARE?

Wilson — The Senior Class of 2013 was my first class…. So eight years.

SNC — Tell us how the DARE graduation developed?

Wilson — The DARE graduation was my brain child. I wanted to make it an “event”. These kids work hard and need to be recognized. The goal was to make it something they remembered. Maybe down the road that could help them make better choices. SO we combined all four classes into one graduation.

SNC — You have been known to raise tremendous amount of money for the ceremony. What type of donations do you get and from who?

Wilson — I have had basketball camps, pie in the face at School Fairs, had a couple companies offer money for others using their products but mostly two things….Our candle fundraiser (coming in February) and our local businesses. Wellington has a lot of generous folks who have been very kind to the Wellington DARE program.

SNC — Do you feel DARE has had a lasting impact on the fifth grader when they get into middle school and high school?

Wilson — I certainly hope so. It is not a just say no program or else. It is about making better choices. Kids will fail and they have to realize that they are human also. We all make mistakes so we teach them how to get out of situations also. We give them a model to make their choices by. We give them examples but in the end it will be their choice.

SNC — Do you have any statistics to share on the good that DARE has done for the students?

Wilson — Not really. Those are hard to keep as most older kids will not walk up and confess. But teaming with  SCDAT the drinking has gone done across the county. I would like to think that DARE has a little to do with that also.

SNC —  In your years of doing the Wellington DARE graduation, what would be your fondest memory?

Wilson — WOW there are a lot of them…I have been blessed to serve on State Boards and even a couple national ones. I would say that honoring those that we have lost is a huge deal to me. But some of the public service announcements being filmed have been really fun, watching kids get the prizes has been great, but just the relationship with students, teachers and parents will be what I treasure the most. I know that the Starfish Story has become a tradition and I can never make it through the whole thing but that is just because I want all these kids to have a chance at success.

SNC — Do you think Wellington’s DARE program is one of the tops in the state?

Wilson — You’re asking me, yes. The best in the state. I do not know of many that raise the money, give the prizes or make overall effort we make in Wellington. Just not the Wellington P.D. but our whole community.

SNC — Any advice for the next Wellington Dare officer?

Wilson — Keep it loud, keep it fun and Keep it real.

SNC — What will you miss most about no longer being involved with DARE?

Wilson — The kids.