Honoring Officer Penrod

Stan Penrod, the DARE officer for Syracuse for the last 7 years, has decided to retire from him duties in the DARE program to move onto other things within the department.  In honor of him, I wrote (and spoke if you were at his gathering tonight) the following:

When I think of the qualities of an ideal person I think of someone who is selfless, compassionate, rational, values truth, practices the Golden Rule, and holds themselves to the highest possible standard. In short, I think of someone like Stan Penrod. To become an officer requires a lot of these qualities in and of itself, but to become a DARE officer takes it a step further. Take a big gruff and tough man, and throw him in the midst of hundreds of eleven and twelve year olds, and you get someone who not only cares about the safety of now, but the safety of the future. You get somebody who cares about all people big and small, old and young. You get someone who is an ideal human being. You get someone like Stan.

Now, I’ve only been teaching a few years, but I can tell you this much, I have never seen a group of students so involved, and so with it, as when they sit in front of Officer Penrod. He takes a topic such as drugs and alcohol and presents it in a way that really captivates these students. He didn’t just walk in and say, “Don’t do drugs”. He engaged them. He made it real to them. He brought the truth to them in a way they’re going to remember it. How does he do it? Through stories that the kids can relate to. He’ll tell a story about the effects of Marijuana, but he’ll make it Grace’s grandma that was smoking it. He’ll tell a story about a student not too much older than them that’s destined to be a famous football player, but ruins it through the use of drugs. He’ll use humor to really capture them through stories that really get his point across such as the Dino Dog, or the drunk driver who thought he’d been hit by a drunk driver.

As a teacher, I know I’m making a difference in the world. As an Officer, I’m sure that Stan realizes he is making a difference. As a DARE officer, he takes the difference I make as a teacher, and the difference he makes as an officer, and rolls it all into one big change. He is a role model to these kids. He is a person these kids should strive to be. He is loved and adored by these kids from the minute he walks into the room, and only builds that relationship stronger as his time with them goes on. He is a friendly, positive relationship with a cop, which is so commonly misconstrued in this day and age. He is the change I want to be in this world. I only hope that I can grow up to make half the difference that he has. I am happy to have had the opportunity to get to work with him, even if just for a few short years. We will truly miss Stan as our DARE officer, but we certainly wish him the best no matter where he goes. I’m sure that whatever is next on his plate, he will be making just as big a change in the world, no matter what he does. Thank you for everything Stan, you really are the man.