HERO Campaign Has Local Face On Billboards

NORTH CAPE MAY – When driving around Cape May or Atlantic counties, it’s possible to recognize the face of the hero on billboards promoting designated drivers as that of Haley Matsinger, North Cape May. Matsinger was named HERO of the Year at Stockton University by the John R. Elliott Campaign for Designated Drivers.
The 21-year-old psychology major was nominated by fellow students as having made significant contributions toward preventing drunken driving, particularly in the area of promoting designated drivers. A panel of faculty, HERO Campaign staffers and students selected Matsinger from among the nominees.
“Haley Matsinger was the driving force behind the 2014 Lollanobooza (sic) event at Stockton,” students Carl Archurt Jr. and Nelson Gonzalez wrote in their nomination. “If it weren’t for her commitment and dedication to this event, we would not have had the number of students in attendance, the awesome giveaways, or the new look of the event. The event was an awesome time for all that were in attendance.
“Through all of her efforts, she was able to help students stay safe and away from driving under the influence on the night before Halloween, which has always been the night for students to party,” they added. “And fortunately, we didn’t have any alcohol transports to the hospital that night.
“This just goes to show that she bleeds the colors of a true osprey, (the university’s mascot) one who cares about her peers, and one who would do anything to keep them safe,” they said.
Matsinger said she took over planning the Lolla No Booza dance because she “loves event planning. The event existed when I came to the campus, but around 200 people attended,” she explained. “We had over 600 students attend this year.”
The dance event emphasizes alcohol-free fun. It raised $11,000 that was distributed as prizes at the dance.
According to Matsinger, the day before Halloween, and Thursdays in general, are traditionally the most problematic days during the college year as far as drunken driving and alcohol-related problems among college students are concerned.
The HERO Campaign was established by the parents of Navy Ens. John Elliott, an Egg Harbor Township High School graduate, who lost his life to a drunken driver in July 2000. Elliott had graduated two months earlier from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., where he was named the outstanding Human Education Resource Officer (HERO) of his class.
When Matsinger started college, her plan was to become a clinical therapist, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to work in mental health, special education or drug and alcohol. An opportunity came up at Stockton to become a drug and alcohol peer educator, and after training, she applied for the post and was selected.
“We educate students on drinking safety,” she explained, “with the emphasis on three things: Who to call if you have drunk too much and shouldn’t be driving or just need help; at what level of alcohol consumption will you find yourself in trouble; and how to safely pace your drinking.
“When students get into trouble for drugs or alcohol, they have to take my class,” she added.
Matsinger said she has also been working with the Stockton Veterans Organization and has promoted the designated driver concept with the military veterans who are members. She also began an auxiliary unit for non-veterans.
“When I was growing up, I really was pretty protected from what was happening around Cape May County,” she said. “I didn’t realize how much of a drug problem there was, but as I got older, I became more aware.
“Friends of mine were using drugs,” she added, “and these were great kids. I really wanted to do something to help.”
Matsinger started an internship April 20 at Families Matter, a treatment center in Villas that focuses on mental health and substance abuse treatment. She plans to graduate this fall.
According to the HERO campaign, New Jersey had 146 alcohol-related fatalities in 2013 in which the blood-alcohol content of the driver was .08 or above. The 146 alcohol-related fatalities of 2013 for New Jersey was 18 fewer than the 164 of 2012, an 11 percent decline.
Annual New Jersey alcohol-related fatalities (.08 or above) went from 185 in 2004 to 146 in 2013, a 21 percent decline over the 10-year period. Nationally, there were 10,076 fatalities in 2013 in crashes involving a driver with a BAC of .08 or higher; this was 31 percent of total national traffic fatalities for the year.
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.