Mac's Safe Ride needs help!

by Dan McClelland

Mac's Safe Ride needs help.

The all-volunteer organization that has safely transported people to and from bars and private parties in recent years desperately needs both drivers and board members.

Without enough help, Mac's Safe Ride is in jeopardy.

Director Vivian Smith, in an interview in recent weeks, explained the Mac's closed temporarily at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

In the summer of 2021, over a year into the pandemic, the board of directors of Mac's Safe Ride tried to resume operations on weekends. “We found, however, that riders were down, as many people were staying home, and drivers were way down!” Ms. Smith lamented.

“Not having enough drivers was a huge problem!”

This is how the driver recruitment used to work at Mac's. Each of the 13 board members was asked to take a month and find enough drivers for the month's Friday and Saturday evenings. If the board members couldn't find drivers, then they drove. Vivian admits that is a big ask of her board members.

“But we stayed pretty steady doing that for about five years,” she remembered.

“Then we got to the point that the volunteer pool was just drying up!”

Taking a Mac's shift on a Friday or Saturday involves a two-person team (driver and navigator) being on call with the Mac's van from 8p.m. to 3a.m.

“Our volunteers lose almost the next day because they are normally up most of the night before”

To make it easier on the willing volunteers the hours of service last year were shortened to 9p.m. to 2a.m.

“It slowly got to the point it was tough to man our shifts. But Tupper Lake has been great- both the residents and businesses. People support us as best they can!”

“Our donors, in particular, are both generous and plentiful,” she asserted with great thanks.

Vivian worries that people may have lost the understanding of the program and its mission. “When I talk to people, they tell me the same people are driving and the same people are riding from bar to bar. But that's not our mission!”

She said the primary mission is to keep “our local roads safe and our community safe!”

“-And an important side effect of keeping our roads safe is that people get home safe and they are not driving under the influence.”

“When Mac's is rolling, our roadways are safer for everyone!”

“If someone is out drinking and driving and I'm out on the road with my babies in the car, and you hit me because you are in my lane, we're trying to prevent that kind of stuff from happening. We're trying to be proactive or preventive, instead of reactive!”

“Our need now as we look to start up again is to find new people to serve on our board, which has dropped in past months” from an original 13 to 12.

Last summer, when the operation closed for a second time, there were evenings when Mac's didn't run because there were no drivers and navigators to operate the van.

“In addition to Friday and Saturday evenings, we tried to also open up when there were special events in town where alcohol was being served.” That too, took its toll on available volunteers.

Mac's closed for a second time last summer and it hasn't re-opened yet.

-And that really bothers the director. “I was sitting home last month when the Tupper Lake Football Boosters had another successful St. Patrick's Day celebration. I thought to myself Mac's should have been operating!”

“Our board members, who continue to meet, are struggling to find ways to go forward!”

Mac's Safe Ride began here in December of 2015, modelled after a safe driving program started by Gisele Lavigne Kress in Old Forge years earlier after her son died in an alcohol-related motor vehicle accident. So it has a solid history of service here that Vivian and her board members don't want Tupper Lake to lose!

“Our program is in jeopardy right now. We're at a point where we either get new blood or we face closure!”

She said Mac's is a completely anonymous operation, meaning the board members and drivers never discuss who the riders are. There are no questions ever asked. “We've picked up underage teenagers who might be at a house party. We've often driven babysitters home, who might otherwise not have had a safe way home. We've given tourists rides home from a bar to their motel room.”

Vivian notes that some of the nicest compliments have come from visitors who used the service who say how lucky Tupper Lake and its residents are for having such a valuable service. “Visitors are particularly generous with their praise and their donations!”

She noted that unfortunately some residents and frequent riders have started to take Mac's Safe Ride for granted. “There is nothing better to dampen the altruistic spirit and enthusiasm of a volunteer driver than a gripe or complaint from an unappreciative rider.”

Mac's Safe Ride has depended since the start on donations and sponsorships of businesses, as well as its annual summer fundraiser. Since the beginning of COVID, however, fundraising has been at a standstill and that's also hurt the program which still has its operating expenses.

The current board of Mac's Safe Ride currently consists of Ms. Smith, Melissa Howard, Tammy LaLonde, Kelly Smith, Connie Kennedy, Kelly Fleury, John Miller, Sandy Grahm, Bridgette LaPierre, Janelle Lavigne Kentile, John Girouard and Bob Zande.

Any of this dedicated folks would like hear from any community resident with any time to donate to the program so that Mac's Safe Ride can re-open and continue to keep the roads of Tupper Lake safe on weekend evenings- as it has done so well for so many years.

To help Mac's Safe Ride in any way, Vivian would love to hear from you at (518) 651-6178.