The BOLD (Building Our Lives Drug-free) Coalition Annual Meeting was held on March 20, 2007 in the spectacular setting of the International Institute of Culinary Arts, the former Central Congregational Church building on Rock Street. Entitled "Making a Difference", the assembly of more than sixty participants listened to District Attorney Samuel Sutter describe the recently reported epidemic of binge drinking among college students. "This should remind us that substance abuse is not confined to persons from less privileged settings," noted the recently-elected official. The audience also heard a moving testimony from B.M.C. Durfee High School student Ronald Rezendes describing a friend's struggle with substance abuse. Members in attendance elected the advisory board officers and committee chairs for the coming year. For more information about the BOLD Coalition, funded by a  SAMHSA grant, contact Program Director Karen Fischer  at Stanley Street Treatment & Resources at 508-324-3537. Click here for photos of the February 2007 Strategic Planning session, here for the December 2006 Awards Banquet, and here for the May 2006 planning session.
 

(Top row, left) Outgoing advisory board chairman, Michael Ramos, reads the list of nominees for this year's election. (Top row, center) Cory Tavares, Angela Allard, Amanda Medeiros, Darwin Frometa and Jared Luciano enjoy the good food offered by the International Culinary Arts Institute. (Top row, right) Audience members listen to speeches by nominees for office. (Middle row, left) District Attorney Samuel Sutter describes the current epidemic of binge drinking on college campuses. (Middle row, right) Ronald Rezendes received an award from Suzanne Raposo of the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Massachusetts. (Bottom row, left) Bristol Community College faculty member Ron Weisberger accepts his nomination to head the Mission/Vision Committee. (Bottom row, center) Susan Sterrett (left) of the Fall River Schools and Billie Jane Valente (right) of the Family Service Association mark their ballots. (Bottom row, right) Meredith Taylor and Sasha Levitskaya describe the work of Teens Against Drug Abuse (TADA) over the past year.