Huth recognized for work with driving class

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Freddie L. Huth has been teaching the county's Alive @ 25 driver education class for nearly a decade. It's always been about saving lives, not about recognition, according to Huth. But recognition is exactly what Huth got recently when he became the recipient of the first ever Greater Good Award given in memory of York Sheriff's Office Dep. Mike Doty, who died in the line of duty in January. "(He) lived his life for the greater good of others," reads the award in referencing Doty. "(Huth's) selfless actions and passion for education embody Mike's vision of a safe and healthy community for all youth. We will forever be grateful for your service." The award will be given annually to an instructor who shows day-in and day-out that he or she gives everything he or she has to make a positive difference in young people's lives and does everything in his or her power to help young people survive. Helping young people survive is what Huth's Alive @ 25 class is all about. "The Alive @ 25 Class is a defensive driving course for young drivers that goes over mistakes made by that age group every day and attempts to get them to realize how badly those mistakes can hurt them and their passengers," said Huth. "It’s called Alive@25 because stats show if we can get a young Driver safely to the age of 25 their chances of being involved in a fatal crash go down drastically. This class is saving lives one student at a time." The class is taught throughout South Carolina, and Huth teaches it at Sumter, Crestwood, Lakewood and East Clarendon high schools, along with the Solicitor's Office in Bennettsville. "I go anywhere else I'm needed in the state to help get this class to every student I can," he said. A deputy with the Clarendon County Sheriff's Office since 1997, Huth started teaching the class in 2009. "(Clarendon School District 3 Superintendent) Dr. Connie Dennis sent me to become an instructor while I was the school resource officer at East Clarendon," said Huth. "When Sheriff Tim Baxley took office, I met with him and he approved for (me) to continue teaching this course on my days off and to continue our goal of zero young driver fatalities, because one life lost is one too many." Huth said one of the main challenges with the program is getting schools to buy into it. "Without the schools making it mandatory, it is really hard to get it across to students how important this class truly is," said Huth. "Every school in this state should make this class mandatory to be taught to all students who drive to school." Huth said he was grateful to receive recognition among more than 40 instructors in the state. "I am so very thankful to the sheriff and the Southeastern Chapter of the National Safety Council for allowing me to assist in keeping our young drivers alive," said Huth.