Staff writer
A vibrant student body at Centre High School reacted positively to a presentation Thursday by Rick Voisin of Towanda. He is the court administrator for Towanda Municipal Court.
The recovering alcoholic and former prison inmate shared the story of his life and urged students to make good choices in life.
Voisin grew up with a grandfather and parents who were alcoholics. Seeing the effects of alcohol on their lives did not prevent him from becoming an alcoholic himself.
He started drinking beer as a freshman at Circle High School and saw how alcohol destroyed the life of a junior boy and one of his classmates in a car-train collision.
“Why don’t they show that in beer commercials?” Voisin asked.
Voisin did well in school and was active in athletic and academic activities.
After graduating from high school in 1979, her married, had two children, and began a career as a restaurant manager.
“I had everything — money, a beautiful home, car, children — but I kept on drinking,” he said.
Voisin called himself a “functioning” alcoholic -- he went to work every day and drank when he had time off.
“I didn’t drink for the flavor,” he said. “I hated the taste of beer. I drank it for the effect.”
And just as he had observed its effect on his grandfather, so his little 5-year-old girl saw the effect on him. She couldn’t understand.
His life unraveled when his wife divorced him, his mother died, and he got fired from his job.
While under the influence of alcohol, he returned to the restaurant he had managed — Kentucky Fried Chicken in El Dorado — and robbed the business.
Convicted of aggravated robbery, he spent 40 months of a 50-month sentence in a minimum security prison.
He said the biggest punishment was the loss of freedom.
He shared with students the humility of being stripped naked and searched for drugs in every crevice and opening of his body. He showed them the orange jumpsuit he was given to wear and the shackles and chains placed around his ankles whenever he was transported.
He shared several frightening experiences he endured in prison.
“Fear is always with you,” Voisin said. “I think I slept with one eye open, because you never knew when someone might do something to you.”
After being released from prison, Voisin rehabilitated himself and eventually became a court administrator for Towanda Municipal Court. He hasn’t had a beer for 15 years but fights the alcoholic demon every day.
He said giving presentations to student groups helps him to hold the demons at bay.
Voisin told students to appreciate the effort school personnel make to help them. He praised teachers for their desire to help young people succeed.
“Teachers aren’t here for the money,” he said. “They are here because they care.”