Worth Every Second

If you missed Missoula's Justice Equity Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) Summit's Key Note Speaker, here's your chance to view it on Missoula Coummunity Access Television (MCAT)'s YouTube Page.

D'Shane Barnett says during the opening comments, "Today is an opportunity to look a the lens of justice, equitity, diversity and inclusion a little differently. To look at our neighbors here in Missoula and try to understand and see the invisible systems that are in play each and every day of our lives that contribute to inequality. In order for this work to happen, we need to show up. We need to show up and we need to have open hearts and open minds."

This is one of those videos we should all watch 6 or more times. I feel it's that important. It was amazing to be their in person.

"Be the Change, Resilience through Equity"- James Whitfield of Be Culture, an organization that helps boards, executives and civic leaders strategically mobilize people across their organization and community to effectively and sustainable develop the culture they seek. James is a professional speaker, writer and executive coach (2022)

When you watch the above video, pay close attention to his HOSTing, System Design, and Equity segments.

What does this have to do with Drive Safe Missoula?

It's about loving the people of Missoula and the entire Missoula Community. We do this work because of love. We understand the pain that is caused as a result of a preventable roadway fatality. We love our community so much that we don't want another family to experience the loss of a loved one. We understand the deep love and gratitude people have who have survived crashes because they made the choice to buckle up and to only drive sober. We love our children so much that we go above and beyond to ensure they are correctly secured in their car seats. We want our children to live in a safer society, so we adults work to demonstrate the safe driving behaviors we hope our children will adopt. It's about working to understand why and how to empower our entire community to choose to be safer, like always wearing a seat belt and driving only 100% sober.

Drive Safe Missoula is working to be a little different.

Sure, we can just say, "Click it or Ticket," and "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over." That would be easy. We could check all the boxes, collect our paycheck and call it a day. Done. However, we all know nothing would change. It's not about telling people what to do. It's all about listening to our community. It's about learning from our community. It's about empowering our community because of the love we have for our community. We care so much because this community is worth it and it's such a great community to work with.

Please visit the Be Culture Website to learn more about James Whitfield, his important message, and how we can implement his work here in Missoula.