Northland Prevention Specialist Vicky Ward Honored for 30 Years of Service

Vicky Ward (left) and Laura Bruce pause for a moment to take photo together during the SAFE Committee meeting on April 6, 2023. As Vicky retires after 30 years service, Laura, current Prevention Specialist, will be stepping into her role. Photo by Courtney Cole.

Northland Prevention Specialist Vicky Ward was honored at the SAFE Committee meeting held at the Excelsior Springs Hospital on April 6, 2023, as she retires from her position after thirty years of service. Ward has been committed to helping communities institute drug prevention programs and services to the Northland for the past three decades, and her contributions were celebrated by the community leaders who worked alongside her.

Excelsior Springs SAFE Director Julia Mees recognized Ward’s work and thanked her for helping to organize the SAFE program initially. Mees said, “SAFE is so thankful for the work Vicky has done over the last 30 years in Excelsior Springs and the entire region. Because of the work Vicky has done to establish prevention policy, share prevention resources, and build a network of volunteers, we are living in a safer and healthier community today.”

Mees spoke about Ward’s legacy in prevention, highlighting how she pioneered prevention in the Northland, starting with her work at Tri-County Mental Health Services in 1993. Over the next decade, Ward dedicated herself to building coalitions across the three-county area, and by the end of her tenure, there were 21 total coalitions built, with six of these coalitions receiving the drug-free communities grant.

Ward’s passion for policy change and environmental change helped pass local ordinances that were proven to reduce youth use of substances. Some of these policies paved the way for statewide laws, and other prevention coalitions are still working to get them passed today. Ward secured millions of dollars in grant funding to support the work of the coalitions and programs, grew her department from a staff of one to a team of 11, and built an army of volunteers throughout the Northland who are passionate about prevention.

Former Excelsior Springs Police Chief John McGovern (left), who worked with Ward in establishing the SAFE Coalition organization and still serves as Treasurer to this day, wrote, “Your work truly produced an everlasting impact, and one that has changed our community for the better in so many ways. Thank you for always supporting our coalition with your constant positivity and encouragement.”

Tri-County Mental Health will be honoring Vicky Ward’s retirement and her decades of dedication and passion for prevention at an open house next Friday, April 21st, 2023, at the Gladstone Community Center. Light refreshments will be available throughout the afternoon. The amazing prevention network that Vicky has created over the years will continue to build on the foundation she has laid and carry on her legacy in prevention.