A week later, word from the community’s schools is that the 23 Years Proud-sponsored anti-bullying presentation has made an impact on students. On Sept. 20 both NACI and HMK students benefitted from an anti-bullying presentation from renowned speaker Jim Jordan. Jordan presented the message of empowering the bystander, told of the negative effects of bullying/hazing and ways to handle situations involving bullying. Since the presentation, the 23 Years Proud committee members have been getting positive feedback from the schools, including Beautiful Plains School Division superintendent Jason Young. “He felt Jim Jordan was well received in both schools,” 23 Years Proud co-chair Amanda Cathcart commented last week. “One teacher at HMK who has been teaching a long time and has seen a lot of presenters over the years told me that Jim gave the best anti-bullying presentation he has ever seen. “I feel the day went great and Jim was definitely capable of getting his message through, while making it fun, interesting and interactive all at the same time.” Jordan presented to students at HMK at 10:30 a.m. and then to NACI students at 1 p.m. As the presentation was geared towards both the school environment and community sports experience, students who are involved in sports wore their jerseys while watching. The 23 Years Proud group formed last year to both prevent and create awareness against bullying and hazing in the community, as well as support a Neepawa Natives organization who was putting forth tremendous efforts to re-brand itself following a difficult time in its 23-year history at the time. As a result, the Natives players also attended the presentations, took part in some of the interactive activities, and held a community barbecue at NACI over the lunch hour that day. The Natives are also still planning to add an anti-bullying patch on their game jerseys to continue the message.