Profile on Sadie Ripley

I married Eric Ripley June 14, 2002, and now I have more family. They too are wonderful. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Eric has one brother who is married and so I gained another brother-in-law and sister-in-law! J

I enjoy hanging out with family, whether it is with my side or with Eric's side…it is all the same. Too much fun! I love kind people. I love having time to organize pictures and scrapbooks. I love being organized and I like honest people, but I hate being scared and I hate feeling rushed.

I have several hobbies. I love watching the TV shows "Friends" and "CSI" with my husband. I also love going on walks, but that doesn't happen as often as I would like. I enjoy playing board games with my family and talking to people--whether it be on the phone or in person-is definitely a must! I don't know what I would do if I didn't have my vocal cords.

I dream of meeting Tina Turner in person, but that most likely will never happen. I also dream of all the fun things I will experience growing old with Eric! I expect a lot out of myself, because I know if I push myself hard, I can do almost anything I set my mind to.

I graduated from Grand Forks Central High School in 1996 and went on to the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND. I graduated from the UND in May of 2001 with a Bachelors of Business Administration and two majors: Marketing and Finance.

I have been employed ever since I was 14, and before that I helped out on the family farm in Manvel. Jobs I have had include: hostess at the Tomahawk Café; retail clerk at Bev's Hallmark; office clerk at Moosbrugger, Dvorak, and Carter law office; and Finance and Marketing intern with the Alumni Association and Foundation at UND. I also worked for seven consecutive summers at the Manvel Migrant Head Start, where my duties ranged from child care to program support assistant.

I started working for Red River Valley Community Action in July of 2001, and have been there ever since. I first started as the Market Express Coordinator, which is a grocery-shopping program for elderly and/or disabled persons living in the City of Grand Forks. The program was a lot of fun, but my interest arose when I found out about the Safe Communities program.

I heard about the Safe Communities program from Kent Keys, Executive Director at Red River Valley Community Action. When I heard that this program advocates for people to wear their seatbelt and to not drink and drive, I was won over. It stands for what I strongly believe in. And if you do not believe in what you do, why do it?

Since July of 2002, I have been working as the Safe Communities Coordinator for Grand Forks. Red River Valley Community Action hosts this program and provides a great deal of wonderful input. Everything seems to be working wonderfully!

I am still building expectations for the program. I mainly want to build awareness of the program. This program has an endless array of possibilities; I want to be the one who helps to make Grand Forks a safer place. Everything is so new. The terminology and dealing with all of the statistics is definitely an eye opener. I like the challenge and I look forward to becoming more knowledgeable about Safe Communities as time goes on.

I am enjoying this experience. I also like all of the support provided by all of the coordinators, outreach staff, NDDOT staff, RRVCA staff, and the Safe Communities web site.