Earlier in November, Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Indiana held their annual awards ceremony at the Indiana Governor’s Mansion in Indianapolis which included remarks from Indiana Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch.
The D.A.R.E. Indiana Educator of the Year Award was presented to Melissa Strohl who currently teaches fifth grade at Frank Hammond Elementary School. Strohl, who was a D.A.R.E. graduate at Frank Hammond School, was also selected to serve as a D.A.R.E. Role Model while attending Munster H.S. While at MHS, she also assisted each year with the annual Snowflurry event that involves high school students peer-mentoring fifth grade D.A.R.E. students through a variety of activities. Since becoming a teacher, Strohl has continued to assist with the Snowflurry event each year and is a positive and hard-working classroom teacher.
In addition, Munster Police Chief Stephen Scheckel was honored with the D.A.R.E. Indiana Law Enforcement Executive of the Year Award. Chief Scheckel has led the Munster Police Department since 2008 and in addition to formerly serving as the Munster Police Department’s D.A.R.E. Officer he has consistently shown support for our department’s community policing programs and efforts such as D.A.R.E., Coffee with a Cop, and the National Night Out Against Crime.
Please join us in congratulating Miss Strohl and Chief Scheckel on receiving these great honors and thank you to everyone who has helped to keep our Munster D.A.R.E. Program going strong for over 30 years.