The first ribbon tied downtown on Saturday during Seymour Young Marines’ Red Ribbon Week kickoff event.
Unit Commander Shawn Riley leads Seymour Young Marine members downtown on Saturday to adorn ribbons on poles and trees for Red Ribbon Week.
Staff Sargent Erin Murphy instructs fellow Seymour Young Marine members on how to properly tie a ribbon onto a tree during the Red Ribbon Week kickoff event on Saturday.
Seymour Police Officer Derek Couch speaks with kids during the Seymour Young Marines’ Red Ribbon Week kickoff event on Saturday.
Seymour Young Marine members take the pledge to stay drug and alcohol free by dipping their hand in red paint and placing it on a poster for Red Ribbon Week on Saturday.
Former Seymour Fire Chief and current City Councilman Brad Lucas kicks off Red Ribbon Week on Saturday by cutting the first piece of ribbon.
Becky Greene’s decorations for Trunk or Treat, which was also held at Crossroads Park on Saturday.
Bridgett Garland and Sarah Craven’s set-up for Trunk or Treat on Saturday.
Established as a way to raise awareness about the dangers of drug use and to promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle, Red Ribbon Week, a nationwide campaign, has been kicked off locally by the Seymour Young Marines for the last several years.
At Crossroads Park on Saturday, Young Marines members dipped their hands into red paint and placed their handprints onto a poster, signifying their pledges to live drug-free lives. Members were later led downtown to tie red ribbons around poles and trees.
“It’s a pleasure to be drug-free,” Young Marines member Duninick Neal said. “One of our main things that we focus on is to live really healthy lifestyles.”
In addition to having the opportunity to commit to a drug-free lifestyle, Young Marines members also had the chance to “trunk-or-treat” (like trick-or-treating, but out of trunks of cars decorated in spooky fashions).
As explained by Young Marines member Noah Webber on the stage at Crossroads Park, Red Ribbon Week originated in the late 1980s following the tragic murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985.
“Red Ribbon Week started in [Camarena’s] hometown as a way to honor [him], but would soon spread across the entire nation as a way to promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle,” Webber said.
Webber then introduced former Seymour Fire Chief and current city Councilman Brad Lucas to read a proclamation from the mayor’s office and to cut the first ribbon.
“Whereas communities across America have been plagued by the numerous problems associated with illicit drugs and those trafficking them, and whereas there is hope in winning the war on drugs through education, drug demand reduction, the hard work of organizations such as the Young Marines of the Marine Core League — which calls for a healthy, drug-free style —and whereas governments and community leaders know that citizens form one of the most effective tools in the effort to reduce the use of illicit drugs in our community, and whereas the red ribbon has been chosen as a symbol commemorating Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena, a drug enforcement administration agent who was murdered in the line of duty and represents the belief that one person can make a difference, and whereas the Red Ribbon Campaign was established by Congress in 1988 to encourage a drug-free lifestyle through its drug-prevention and reduction efforts, and whereas Oct. 23, 2024, has been designated national Red Ribbon Week, which encourages Americans to wear red ribbons to show their support for a drug-free life; therefore, Matt Nicholson, the mayor of the city of Seymour, Indiana, does here thereby declare Oct. 23 through the 31st as Red Ribbon Week in Seymour, Indiana, and encourages all citizens to join him on his observance and to help fight the war on drugs, not only in our community, but nationwide,” Lucas said.