...Towery's advocacy By Joe Gerrety Dan Towery has devoted about 20 hours a week to fighting drunken driving since his daughter and her boyfriend were killed by a drunken driver in March 1999. Those efforts, which have included formation of a Greater Lafayette organization of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, lobbying for legislative change and numerous speaking engagements, have been recognized by the Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving. Towery last month received the Chairman's Award from the council at its annual Operation Pull Over Traffic Safety banquet. "It was given to me, but there are a lot of folks who deserve a lot of credit and a lot of support for that," Towery said. Jerry McCory, executive director of the Governor's Council, said the Chairman's Award is the top award the organization presents each year, and law enforcement agencies typically have the inside track. "This year, there was no question it was going to be Dan Towery," McCory said. "He really did his research, and he really gets it." McCory said Towery stands out among advocates because he understands there's no "magic bullet" solution to the problem of drunken driving. It takes a combination of programs, from bartender training, to dropping Indiana's operating while intoxicated threshold to .08 percent blood-alcohol content, to tougher penalties. "Dan Towery is a person, frankly, I wish I'd never met," McCory said, noting the tragedy that made Towery an advocate. "But he's a person that I admire and respect." Towery's advocacy effort has included helping to produce an informational video, television and newspaper interviews, lobbying in the Indiana Legislature, speaking at schools and volunteering on boards. Towery helped found the local MADD community action team, which hopes to gain full chapter status in April. He and area MADD coordinator, Mary Tremmel, have been certified as MADD victim advocates after completing a 40-hour training course. Towery said he hopes the group's work has been successful. But when it comes to fighting drunken driving, it's easier to measure failure than successes. "That's part of the way this
business is. You don't know when you've been successful and made a
difference," Towery said. "All we can do is look at the trends
-- the deaths and injuries -- and hope we've made a difference. If one
family doesn't go through what we have, then it's worth it."
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