Monique Masters of Old Forge has been selected to serve as MAC’s Safe Ride’s new Executive Director, marking the organization’s first formal staff appointment since its 2010 inception.
According to MAC’s founder and board member Gisele Kress, the intent of the new position is to help give back to the community that has given so much to them.
“The organization has grown and we found it was difficult to get everything done that we wanted to get done. It was time for somebody with fresh ideas to come in, with the energy to set the wheels in motion,” Kress said.
She extended thanks for all of the work done over the years by Beth Tickner, Nanci Russell, Carol Perkins, Felicity Davey, Kelly Greene and all of the board.
With a new director on board, she said the organization is hoping for a renewed sense of a call to action, commitment and an increase in fundraising and engagement.
Masters said the executive director position, which is part-time and year-round, encompasses many of her skills including interaction with the public, communication and budgeting and bookkeeping—exactly the direction she wanted to go in.
She is currently earning her accounting degree through Herkimer Community College and hopes to be done next fall. She already has an Associates degree from HCCC in sports and recreation management.
She was born and raised in Lowville and came to know Old Forge by working summer jobs during high school. She moved here in 2001 and lives here with her husband Justin and two children.
She continues to work at the Old Mill Restaurant, where she became acquainted with co-worker Matt Girouard, one of the two young men for whom MAC’s is named.
“I remember the big smiling grin on his face. He had a great sense of humor,” she said.
On Friday, November 8, Masters had her maiden voyage driving with MAC’s Safe Ride.
“It’s a fantastic service. The town loves MAC’s and what it stands for. Seeing the van going back and forth through town makes people stop and think about being more responsible,” she said.
And she is already jumping in herself, currently working to recruit volunteers for a fundraising event that will provide free gift wrapping during the upcoming Adirondack Christmas on Main Street event.
“You don’t necessarily have to drive, there are other ways to contribute,” she said.
Volunteer MAC’s drivers are always needed. Operating hours are 8 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday evenings through the winter and spring. Volunteering is flexible and can be for a portion of an evening. Drivers can wait for a call where they feel comfortable, such as their own home.
A calendar of open dates can be viewed at MacsSafeRide.com/macs_volunteer.html.
Sign up to be a driver by emailing macs369.8121@gmail.com or by calling (315) 369-8121 or the office at 369-5255.
Masters and the Board are also looking to expand the summer sponsorship program started last year that offers paid advertising space on the side of the van, website and Facebook page.
MAC’s Safe Ride is a free, volunteer-based service with the purpose of making the community safe by providing an alternative means of transportation for those affected by alcohol use.
Tax-deductible donations can be made payable to MAC’s Safe Ride and sent to P.O. Box 888, Old Forge, NY 13420.
The executive director position is funded through individual donations and CAP-21. The organization is working through the process of getting their non-profit status that will allow them to fundraise on a different level, said Kress.
Since January of this year, MAC’s Safe Ride vans have provided transport to 6,500 people, double what it was last year.