Did you know there are some genuine heroes on this planet?

They do things like educate children, families and community leaders on the dangers of harmful drugs—helping people to understand the truth about drugs. They help save lives.

The annual Drug-Free World Heroes Awards Banquet was held at the historic Fort Harrison on Saturday, April 27, 2024, when the Foundation for a Drug-Free World Florida Chapter Executive Director, Ms. Stephanie Klimke, welcomed her guests and emceed the event. Popular actor, Mr. Jason Dohring and local volunteer, Ms. Pam Fyffe, presented awards to some true heroes—people who are making a difference in the efforts to steer others away from drug abuse and addiction.

This event was put on by the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, Florida Chapter, to recognize dedicated Community Leaders, Educators and Law Enforcement who through education and prevention are helping to keep our youth safe and drug-free. It all started with an amazing dinner!

 

Lance Dyer

Keynote speaker, Mr. Lance Dyer, from Alabama is the founder of the Dakota Dyer Foundation. He told the story of his 14-year-old son who used synthetic drugs (spice) one time and tragically lost his life after that.

Lance decided to make it his mission to do all he could to make sure no one else suffers from an experience like this. He partners with Foundation for a Drug-Free-World and educates youth, parents, and community leaders on the true dangers of drugs. And he pushes for legislation  to pass laws to ban synthetic drugs.

Contact the Dakota Dyer Foundation at: DakotaDyerFoundation

Amy Ronshausen

Special Keynote Speaker: Ms. Amy Ronshausen is the Executive Director of Drug Free America Foundation and Save Our Society from Drugs. She is also the President of the World Federation Against Drugs—a group of individuals and non-governmental organizations from different parts of the world. The members of this group share the concern that “illicit drug use is undercutting traditional values and threatening the existence of stable families, communities, and government institutions throughout the world.” (from https://wfad.se/)

She works tirelessly to defeat drug legalization attempts, to promote sound drug policies, and to prevent drug use, abuse and addiction.

Amy has used the Truth About Drugs materials in her drug education efforts. These materials are available at no cost from the Foundation for a Drug-Free World. She has devoted most of her adult life to the work of drug demand reduction.

Learn more about these groups at:

https://www.dfaf.org/

https://www.saveoursociety.org/

https://wfad.se/

 

DRUG-FREE WORLD HEROES AWARDEES

 

John Philome

Commander John Philome, from North Miami Beach Police Department, was the recipient of the first Hero Award. He has served in law enforcement for 19 years and is currently a Commander with the North Miami Beach Police Department. His passion is service to the community and mentoring our future leaders.

He works with several youth programs including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Youth Crime Watch, and Police Explorers. He coached Peewee football on the weekends for over 15 years.

Thirty-one of those he mentored went on to have careers in law enforcement. Twelve of these are now serving our country in the Armed Forces.

Commander Philome has been working in drug education for several years. He has used the Drug-Free World program and credits these materials for saving lives and having a major impact on the youth and parents of Miami-Dade County. He has done in-school presentations, attended city events and community meetings reaching thousands of people with The Truth About Drugs.

 

Pat Siracusa

Judge Pat Siracusa served as an Assistant State Attorney in the 6th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida for almost 12 years. Then he was elected to Circuit Court Judge in 2006.

From 2007 through 2017 he served in Criminal, Juvenile and Family courts. He’s been assigned to the criminal division in Clearwater since January 2017.

He received the Mayor’s Outstanding Community Initiative Award for improving the quality of life in St. Petersburg neighborhoods. In 2006 he was selected as Prosecutor of the Year for the State of Florida.

He has lectured in 21 states for narcotics detectives through a Counterdrug Taskforce. And he was a volunteer boot camp instructor for the Pinellas County Sherrif’s Early Intervention program for 5 years.

Judge Siracusa has used the Truth About Drug educational material to raise awareness of the negative effects of drugs on young people. He even took young people under his wing. An example is a young man that he jailed and then mentored after a DUI manslaughter charge. With his care and guidance this young man went on to graduate from USF and is now a pediatric surgical nurse helping others, while working on his PHD and lecturing to many audiences on DUI and the effects of drugs as well.

Judge Siracusa is acknowledged for having helped many young people have a drug-free future and his dedication to educating and raising awareness of over 15,000 youth!

 

Cindy Grant

After the tragic loss of her 19-year-old son to an accidental overdose of painkillers, Cindy Grant began her mission to make a difference in the lives of others and has devoted herself to substance abuse prevention.

She began as a member and chair of her hometown anti-drug coalition in Alachua County, Florida where she saw the community go from total denial in 1999 to one of actively making positive change in drug abuse awareness and prevention.

Cindy is Executive Director of Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance and the Board Chair of the Florida Coalition Alliance.  This group works to promote healthy communities in Hillsborough County free of substance abuse and addiction through education, collaboration and advocacy.

She also serves on several boards and councils in Hillsborough County including: Narcotics Overdose Prevention and Education, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the Public Safety Coordinating Council.

The Alliance she is part of runs 18 youth clubs. Her greatest rewards are seeing some of the youth go from being very shy with low self-esteem to becoming leaders in their schools or neighborhoods.

In truth, Cindy has taken a leadership role in making our community a healthier and safer place for all citizens. Her efforts have contributed to reaching over a million people with the message of substance abuse prevention and education!

Find out more about their work at http://hcada.com/

 

Michael DeLeon

Michael DeLeon was a successful businessman who built a multimillion-dollar company and then fell into the grips of addiction. This spiraled out of control to the point that he lost everything and got involved in gangs to get drugs, which led him to 12 years in state prison.

While incarcerated he founded the Project Pride Program to help prisoners. This still exists today and is the largest prison outreach program in America.

After being released from prison he earned several degrees in management and criminal justice. The he founded the non-profit called Steered Straight to spread the message to youth and young adults regarding the extreme dangers of drugs, gang-involvement and criminal activity.

He is an award-winning filmmaker and has directed and produced four documentaries on addiction, focusing on the opiate and heroin epidemic in America, marijuana use and addiction recovery.

He reaches youth, parents, educators, law enforcement, medical professionals and community groups throughout the country and is a stellar example of an altruistic individual.

He tirelessly works towards creating a drug-free world, reaching over 15 million kids with the drug-free message.

Learn more at https://www.steeredstraight.org/about/

 

Marshall Faulk

National Football League legend, Marshall Faulk was the final awardee of the evening. He is a Football Hall of Famer, Super Bowl Champion,

Marshall played running back for 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and the St. Louis Rams. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time!

Some of his many accomplishments include:

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

NFL Most Valuable Player Award

3-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year

NFL Rushing Touchdowns Leader

Inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame

Induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Super Bowl Champion

He has been fighting the battle to keep kids off drugs by becoming an international spokesman for the Foundation for a Drug-Free World and spends his time educating millions on the danger of drugs. In his own words he said, “It’s not an option for me. It’s a responsibility for me to give back.”

He has reached over 10,000 youth through 40 football camps and school presentations. With his media appearances he has reached over 90 million people with The Truth About Drugs message.

See Marshall’s Voices for Humanity interview at: Voices for Humanity

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE AWARDEES AND THANKS TO LANCE DYER AND AMY RONSHAUSEN FOR ALL THEIR WORK TO HELP CREATE A DRUG-FREE WORLD.

Learn more about the Foundation for a Drug-Free World which provides free materials and courses to help anyone understand The Truth About Drugs. You can enroll in free online courses, get free materials and even learn how to get involved by going to https://www.drugfreeworld.org/