Speaker to talk about breaking drug, alcohol cycle

Marlando Sparks, an inspirational speaker, will talk at Havre Middle School Dec. 5 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and then at the middle school and Havre High School the following day to speak to the students alone.

Sparks will be giving a different speech each day. The Dec. 5 presentation is free of charge and open to the public.

“Essentially, it’s about how each person can make a difference in the life of a teen or a youth,” said Maryke Brenna, one of the organizers of the event. “Parents, teachers, faculty, law enforcement — anyone.”

Sparks travels around the country to speak at middle schools and high schools to parents, students and communities about rising above the chains of alcohol and drugs.

“One of the main reasons I do this is because of issues that have happened in my life,” Sparks said. “If you make it past things and survive those things, it’s for a reason. If I had someone in my life when I was 15 or 16 years old, I may have done things differently.”

Sparks said he has been speaking at middle and high schools for around seven or eight years. He said he has been working with teenagers for around 19 years, while in the military and working at a prison.

“That’s one of the reasons I started working with teens,” Sparks said. “They were in (prison) because of really silly reasons.”

Sparks said he will be giving two different speeches while he is in Havre.

The one open to the community on Dec. 5 is titled, “The Power of One.” This speech is about how one person can alter the life of a teenager by challenging and supporting them, Sparks said.