DARE OFFICER OF YEAR SERVING IN LEAWOOD

Officer Randy Wiler of the Leawood Police Department, a nationally
recognized expert on bullying prevention, has been chosen as the
International D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year.

The city recognized Wiler's accomplishments and award during its Aug.
21 meeting.

"This award did not come easy," Police Chief Sid Mitchell said.

D.A.R.E., which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, has more
than 50,000 officers nationwide.

Wiler said he simply helped officers reach more children and the award
is a surprise.

"I'm pretty stunned," Wiler said. "I never imagined that this would
happen to me. Some of the recipients have been more than just D.A.R.E.
officers. They've been heroes who have been shot defending their school."

Wiler said D.A.R.E. officers should never doubt their impact on
children's lives.

"An officer in the department arrested one of my D.A.R.E. students who
is 22 now," Wiler said. "She begged the officer not to tell me. She
did not want to disappoint me, so I tell D.A.R.E. officers that when
you feel like things have failed, I think you still succeed."

Wiler researched and created two supplemental lessons on bullying
prevention after learning bullies had targeted his child. The lessons
have been adopted by D.A.R.E.

"A lot of adults think kids can handle bullies on their own; we have
to change that thinking," he said. "Studies have shown that 60 percent
of students in grades six to nine who are identified by their peers as
someone who bullies will have one or more felony court convictions by
the time they are 24."

Wiler said he hopes the prevention program will reduce
bullying.

About 26 million children will participate in the D.A.R.E. program
this year.

Wiler has been a D.A.R.E. officer since 1989 and instructs at
Brookwood and Corinth elementary schools in the Shawnee Mission School
District and Cure of Ars elementary and middle schools.

Wiler is also director of the Kansas Bullying Prevention Association,
which has trained more than 700 Kansas educators in bullying
prevention, and he is vice president of the International Bullying
Prevention Association.