Bob Anastas

A former college All-American football and hockey player, Massachusetts Teacher of the Year and coach, Bob Anastas faced a tragedy in the summer of 1981 that profoundly changed the course of his life.  Within four days, two star athletes on his high school hockey team were killed in separate car accidents.  Their deaths prompted Anastas to start a new health program for sophomores at the Massachusetts school where he taught.

After only one week into the course, Anastas recognized that his standard approach -- reciting powerful statistics on the consequences of underage drinking and drunk driving -- was not getting through.  The students already knew the facts, but still they were making illegal and risky choices.
 

Out of frustration, Anastas turned to the students. "I don't know how to do this," he told them. "I need your help.  What I have been doing has failed." Together, they began to tackle the problem.

 

From this initiative was born SADD, or Students Against Driving Drunk, a program that, for more than a decade, successfully engaged students and parents in a joint commitment to help each other, to call on one another, to break down the barriers of communication.

Today, recognizing that students face many other challenges and decisions beyond underage drinking and drunk driving, Anastas had initiated a new program, Check In To A Winning Life* - an evolution of his core message, expanded to address the broader subject of responsible decision making.  Check In motivates students, parents and teachers to enhance their understanding of risk-taking behavior and forcefully confront it.

What Others Are Saying About Bob Anastas & His Work
 

"Bob Anastas was one of the most effective teachers and outstanding high school coaches I have ever known.  He speaks from the heart with clarity, enthusiasm and a genuine concern for the well-being of young people." 

 

Dr. William Zimmerman

Superintendent of Schools, Wayland, Massachusetts                       

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"Students and student athletes have believed in his heartfelt commitment to them for over a decade. He is unbeatable."

Ron Burton

All-Pro NFL Player, New England Patriots

 

"Bob Anastas is one of the most dynamic, inspirational speakers I have ever heard."
 

Terrance D. Schiavone

President, National Commission Against Drunk Driving

 

* Check In To A Winning Life is a new and independent program developed by Bob Anastas, and is not affiliated with SADD.