Waste Management of North County

WHAT:

Charissa McAfee, the manager of customer experience for Waste Management of San Diego/Orange County, will serve as the moderator for Oceanside’s community forum on underage drinking on Monday.

Adolescent and adult panelists will share their personal and professional experience about underage drinking as well as drinking and driving. The discussion will be followed by a question and answer period.

WHEN:

Monday, March 19, 2007
6:30-8:30 p.m.

WHERE:

Oceanside City Council Chambers, 300 N. Coast Highway

WHO:

Charissa McAfee, member of the San Diego County Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board and previously served as Executive Director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) San Diego County and the president of the North Coastal Prevention Coalition prior to joining Waste Management
Sgt. Leonard Mata, Oceanside Police Department
Nancy Logan, San Dieguito Alliance for Drug Free Youth
Fred Becker, Becker Institute
North Coastal Prevention Youth Coalition Representative
Jim Wood, Oceanside Mayor

SPONSORED BY:

North Coastal Prevention Coalition
City of Oceanside Parks and Recreation Department
Oceanside Youth Commission
MADD San Diego County

WHY:

“We are coming together to help teens, parents and residents become aware of the risks of underage drinking and community efforts to reduce the problem,” said McAfee. “More than 40 percent of high school juniors in the Oceanside Unified School District report drinking alcohol in the past 30 days, and the number of alcohol-related crashes in Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista have increased by nearly 40 percent since 2000. This is a serious issue that impacts the entire community, so it is important that teens and adults have a safe forum in which to discuss underage drinking.

“Bridging my experience with MADD and my role at Waste Management, where we work to educate our employees about how drinking can impact their jobs both individually and through outside influences like drunk drivers, I hope I can use my unique perspective on the issue to guide the discussion in a number of productive directions,” said McAfee.