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Born to teach

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You might say Shelby Fulks was born to teach.

Her public school tenure has included assignments from elementary through high school for several districts over the course of 20-plus years.

Currently, the Slaughterville resident teaches fifth grade at Kennedy Elementary School in east Norman.

Not that her job as an educator ends with the last bell of the day.

Fulks is the owner and director of GP Victim Impact Panel south of the Cleveland County Courthouse.

There her teaching day continues. Only her “students” are motorists who have been ticketed for drunken driving.

“I teach them the impact, the cost of drinking and driving,” she said.

It’s an eye-opening lesson for her clients.

In Oklahoma, a DUI case can cost thousands.

“The financial part ... scares them,” she said. “They’re lucky if they get out for $10,000. And it can cost up to $50,000 to $100,000.”

The consequences of drinking and driving include a suspended driver’s license, attorney fees, misdemeanor or felony charge/conviction, jail time and more.

The first step in getting the driver’s license reinstated is to complete a class with a state certified victim impact panel.

Fulks named her victim impact panel GP for her son, Garrett Parker, a college senior.

One day, she said, the business will be his. GP Victim Impact Panel opened in January and Fulks said she’s been blessed to “get clients like crazy.”

“Every day I get calls,” she said.

She concentrates mainly on Cleveland and McClain Counties, although her services are available in all of Oklahoma’s 77 counties.

To date, clients have come from Anadarko to Shawnee, Ada to Oklahoma City.

The court appoints licensed therapists or mediators to serve as assessors.

Those assessors will direct the offender to complete a victim impact panel class and a 10- to 20-hour DUI school.

Clients completing the GP Victim Impact Panel receive a signed and stamped certificate that they return to the assessor.

Referrals are word of mouth and “fantastic reviews.” Others are sent to Fulks by attorneys.

“We always try to serve people as best we can,” Fulks said.

If that means working on Saturdays, so be it.

Fulks’ class takes 1-12 to 2 hours and costs the individual $75. Presently that fee is payable by cash or money order. She hopes to accept credit and debit cards soon.

Some offenders are required to have a breathalyzer installed in their vehicle. If the device detects alcohol, the vehicle won’t start or the engine shuts off.

In addition to the cost – the device costs $150 per month for six months or longer – the COVID-19 pandemic and the public’s reliance on hand sanitizers has presented a new challenge.

One client shared his experience with Fulks. He wasn’t drinking any alcohol, but his car’s engine would shut off and wouldn’t restart.

Turns out, the device was reading the alcohol content from the hand sanitizer he was using.

“Everybody has a different story to tell,” Fulks said. “I go through the effects of drinking and driving. And what if someone is killed?

“I tell the clients we love them. Alcohol is an addiction. Our job is to show them if you drink, don’t get behind the wheel.”

The message isn’t sugar-coated and is chock full of “what if’s.”

“We get very detailed,” she said. “What if there’s loss of life?”

Her years in public schools have given Fulks ample opportunity to see first-hand the impact on families when a loved one is killed by a drunk driver.

So sometimes she brings in family members to talk about that loss and what it did to their family.

Both parties are often moved to tears.

“It gives peace back to those families and helps save lives,” she said.

It is something she calls “Let’s Save Lives Together.”

“I’ve met so many awesome people,” she said. “This most likely will be my retirement job.”

In serving her clients, Fulks has just one goal – to give hope to those who turn to alcohol and, in turn, to save lives.

Consider this adage:  “Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.”

“This is something I never thought I would do,” Fulks said. “I don’t want to see people sent to prison when they are good people who made a bad decision.”

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