“If we can dream it, it can be done.” This is the quote that Bob Anastas, the founder of Check Into a Winning Life, lives by.

            Anastas came to Shores to help promote his message against drunk driving to the juniors and seniors in the auditorium on April 12.

            Anastas refused to speak from the stage and instead stood directly in front of the front row. Instead of showing gruesome pictures and videos, he chose to use only his voice, a pad of paper, and a marker.

            “The assembly was outstanding,” social studies teacher Jason Crago said. “Bob was very engaging; he had a lot of great lessons for kids about competition. I loved the part about telling kids to stop making excuses.”

            Prior to becoming a speaker, Anastas was a teacher and a coach. After two of his athletes died due to drunk driving, he left his career of teaching and coaching to devote his life to SADD (Students Against Driving Drunk).

            Anastas has four keys to success in his program: run while others walk, sleep when others party, take weaknesses and make it your strength, and keep your body under control at all times.

Despite his four keys to success, junior Lauren Carpenter did not find the assembly influential.

            “It started off okay,” Carpenter said. “But I slowly lost interest because the performance was hard to follow. The assembly was a long time for someone to just stand and talk at you.”

            Other students disagreed, though.

            “I thought the assembly was really good,” junior Chris Grace said. “I am an athlete, so his stories really connected with my life. It made me realize that my decisions could affect me a lot more than I thought.”