Jacksonville, Fla. – A news conference will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 20 to kick off this year’s Celebrate Safely campaign, which is intended to educate the public on the legal issues and the responsibilities of hosting a holiday party where alcohol is served. The news conference will be held at a private residence at 1610 Landon Avenue in San Marco.
Most people know that an intoxicated guest leaving a holiday party could injure or kill someone on the road, but what most don’t know is that the host of the party can be held criminally responsible with the possibility of facing other charges. The home location was chosen to get a glimpse at an ordinary holiday party and what a host should do to help prevent guests from leaving intoxicated. At the end of the news conference, guests leaving the party will then get to choose their ride from an ambulance, a hearse, a cab or a police car. Each ride represents possible outcomes of leaving a party intoxicated.
The goal of the campaign is to educate the public on how to protect themselves when throwing a party and how to encourage guests to drink responsibly. Assistant State Attorney Mark Borello, Assistant Chief Rick Townsend from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and Lt. Bill Leeper from the Florida Highway Patrol will be sharing valuable information about the responsibilities of serving alcohol at a party, and the legal issues of what can happen to a host when guests leave a party intoxicated.
In addition, holiday refreshments and non-alcoholic drinks from the 2002 Recipes for the Road book will be served to everyone. Shands Jacksonville, Jiffy Lube and the Duval Traffic Safety Team produce the recipe book to help reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes that increase by 20 percent during the holiday season. The book is promoted in conjunction with the Duval Traffic Safety Team’s Celebrate Safely holiday campaign, a community-based comprehensive prevention program that addresses the issue of impaired driving.
Recipes for the Road will enter its fifth year this December printing 30,000 recipe books. The free non-alcoholic drink recipes are collected each year from local restaurants and are given away starting at Thanksgiving through the beginning of January at all area Jiffy Lube stores as well as participating restaurants and bars.
To get to the news conference at 1610 Landon Avenue, turn left onto Landon Avenue off of Hendricks Avenue heading south right after Panera Bread in San Marco. You will see the traffic cones ahead. Please call (904) 306-9249 for directions that morning.