EDMOND — EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been modified to correct the name of a local business. The correct name is Collision Clinic. The Sun apologizes for the error and any inconvenience to the reader.

Because of the wish of one man, a community driver’s education course was born with a little help from one mother engaging local businesses.

Edmond Public Schools’ Athletic Director Mike Nunley recently expressed in a telephone conversation the need for help with the district’s summer driver’s education program.

Donna Roukat at Dennis Chaumont State Farm Insurance heard of the need and organized eight area businesses to help out the program in various ways.

Education cutbacks are affecting all districts across the state as well as programs offered.

“Because of state cutbacks, the help from local businesses has been the difference in having driver’s education offered or not,” said driver’s education teacher Rick Leath.

Roukat made it a one-woman mission after she learned about the Edmond district’s need.

“One of my passions is teenagers, and I have a teenage daughter who went through driver’s education,” Roukat said. “So I found out what the school needed, and then I started calling businesses to see if they could help.”  

Chesapeake Energy, Collision Clinic and Enterprise Rental all donated cars and gas cards. Dennis Chaumont State Farm Insurance, Sprint and Kirkpatrick Bank donated funds, some of which were used to purchase driving manuals. Chaumont also donated T-shirts, Aegis Roofing donated soda and water and Brad Reeser with Keller Williams Realty donated five $50 pizza cards from Jo’s Famous Pizza in Edmond to provide pizza for the students throughout the course.

“I took driver’s education while I was in high school,” Reeser said, “and I want to see it kept there. I have four children and I know how important it is. When I was contacted I said I would be glad to help.”

Management at Chesapeake Energy including fleet manager Nate Pumphrey and Raymond Moore worked to see that the district received three 2010 Compressed Natural Gas Honda Civics for the students to drive this summer as well as three gas cards to use at OnCue Express on Broadway in Edmond.

“It is great,” Nunley said. “We can fill up one of the CNG cars for about $6, and we’ve been able to expose our students to a unique driving vehicle this summer as well.”

Collision Clinic’s owners Lee and Tanya Lawrence donated a 2010 Toyota Scion and a gas card to help with costs.

“We were asked to go in on some of the expense, and we were trying to compensate for some of the program costs,” Tanya said. “We talked it over and decided to donate the company car for the students to use. We plan on helping again next summer.

“We would like to keep the program in the schools and keep the costs down for parents. We also care that the students are presented with a campaign for not texting while driving during driver’s education.”

Tanya said one thing that prompted them to help with the program was the staggering statistics concerning teen driving that Donna Roukat shared with them.

“An associate from State Farm showed us statistics (associated with teen driving),” Tanya said. “Nobody wants to see kids in accidents, get hurt or lose a life.”

She said she was impressed also with a program taught during the class sponsored by Sprint that encouraged teen drivers to not text while driving.  

“Sprint has taken a huge initiative in distracted driving and not texting while driving for employees as well as promoting it among teen drivers,” said Kylie Copeland, Sprint account manager. “Parents can put an application on the phones so their children cannot text and drive at the same time.”

The program is called Textecution, costs $1.99 and supported platforms are Android (Droid, CLIQ, G1, and G2 in the U.S.), although they are currently developing the app for other phones, Copeland said.

Kirkpatrick Bank vice president Cynthia Archiniaco said, “They (the school district’s teachers) do a great job. They have put a program together that helps students get extra points when they take driver’s education that helps them when they get their car insurance. We were glad to be part of the team.”

Although classroom instruction has been completed, students will continue driving until June 23.

“Hopefully, we will be able to offer two sessions of driver’s education next summer,” Leath said.

At this time students pay $275 or $325 to take the course depending on if they are in-district or out-of-district.  

“Edmond Public schools are great and we live in a great community,” Roukat said. “As local businesses we want to be able to give back, and we want to keep these kids safe.”

Nunley said, “With the help of local businesses we are raising a community of drivers and hopefully safer ones.”