A little wine goes a long way.

A committee of the Marietta Rotary Club asked me for some assistance on redesigning a 36 year-old Safetytown program one night last winter. My first order of business was to savor the Pinot Noir they sent over to my table at a local Italian restaurant. The committee happened to be meeting at the same restaurant that night to discuss their options.

Sure, I said, knowing that I was going to pass this off to our creative department for the heavy lifting.

My first decision the next day was to sell our creative team on the idea of another community service project. Led by our Vice President and Creative Director Abby Spung, and assisted by Steven Hollis and Bobby Schehl, Abby immediately took the project to her Marietta College classes where she is an adjunct instructor in graphic design. The rest, as we say, is history.

Throughout the spring semester, Abby’s two teams, one led by Steven and Bobby, and the other led by Abby, worked separately to develop a new look and feel for Safetytown. Following a preliminary review by the Rotary committee, a concept was selected and the two teams were combined to work together for the balance of the semester. As a result, they were able to fulfill a combination of extra credit, internships and community service obligations that made for a win/win situation.

Above all, more than 200 five-year old children entering kindergarten this fall will benefit from a two-week camp all about safety graced by a contemporary look designed by Marietta College students highly sensitive to the points of view expressed by five and six year old children.

As an extra bonus, another Mariette College faculty member, Fred Jesser, was looking for an excuse to create a documentary. Although his first effort is in final edit, you can view the long version here. It’s a good story and one we’ll see in the final cut when the program kicks off at the Safetytown Volunteer luncheon in June.