06-25-2012 Evan J. Sears Memorial Scholarship Award Ceremony

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Marc!Sears—Remarks 2012 August 2nd of this year marks 13 years since we lost Evan to a tragic accident. My family and I miss him every day...and every day we think about how different life would be if he were still with us. While Evan's loss has been terrible for us, we feel so much comfort from friends like all of you who have loved us through this. Thank you to each one of you who have come today to stand by us. We are also greatly comforted by the consistent and dedicated effort of the city of South Bend to not only keep current safety practices in place, but continually seek additional ways to make employees safer in their work day responsibilities. I will admit that I had some concern with the change in administration that perhaps the emphasis that was placed on safety might suffer. After meeting with Mayor Buttigieg, talking with his staff and reading the essays from this year's group of interns, I know that my concerns were needless. I have been greatly heartened by the commitment I have seen from Mayor Buttigieg for safety of city employees. I was delighted to learn that safety helmets have been put into use for specified positions and further encouraged to read in this year's essays the continued emphasis placed on safety and safety training for interns. My sincere thanks to Mayor Buttigieg and his staff for continuing the diligent carry-through of safety practices from the previous administration. A special thank you to Mayor Steve Leucke and Director of Public Works, Gary Gllot for their perseverance in executing safety improvements. It is now my pleasure to tell you about this year's winner of the Evan J. Sears Scholarship award. She grew up here in South Bend and is an engineering student at Purdue University. While all of the essays were very good, Mara's had an expressiveness that could not be ignored. She spoke of the comprehensive training provided by the city and of her appreciation for the safety education provided to interns. She sincerely acknowledged the tragic loss of Evan's life and how much more meaningful this made the issue of safety. It is this type of acknowledgement for which I, as Evan's mother, am truly thankful...for it makes our family feel his loss was not completely in vain. I am very happy to announce the 2012 winner of the Evan J. Sears Scholarship Award is Mara Paluszewski.