Whitestown — Perry Worth Elementary School fifth-grader Samantha Collier learned that she shouldn’t put people down. Fifth-grader Charlie Myers learned how to be nice to others and to treat people right.

Collier and Myers were two out of 1,600 students in Boone County that learned important life lessons from a presentation given by a National DARE Safety speaker on Thursday.

Bill Russ, more commonly known as Retro Bill, traveled from Hollywood, Calif., to visit three Boone County elementary schools and one Zionsville church group to speak about self-esteem, bullying, safety, drug awareness and making good choices ... and “that is so cool,” Retro Bill repeated to get a laugh out of the students. He visited Thorntown Elementary, Granville Wells Elementary School, Perry Worth Elementary School and the Zionsville United Methodist Church’s R.O.C.K. after school group.

Under Retro Bill’s humor, sound effects and Elvis-like hair — which he says is real — is a man who loves his country and knows what it was like to be bullied as a child. Retro Bill takes his knowledge all over the country to work with the hearts and minds of kids to make sure they make good choices and have good habits as they grow.

“I believe that one of the most effective ways to get kids to make good choices is by providing a technique on how to protect themselves against bullying, drugs and violence,” Retro Bill said. abadger 5/7/09 who says the following?“I think Retro Bill is a great reinforcement because he gives them positive ways to react to a bad situation. Retro Bill inspires them with humor and because of that, when kids hear what he has to say, they listen.”

During Retro Bill’s presentation, he shared personal stories of life lessons he learned. Some important life lessons were that children should seek out advice from an adult if something is bothering them, that “no” means “no,” how to stay on the “positive channel,” to follow rules and always tell the truth, not to bully people, never quit, to do the right thing and treat people right.

Sgt. Deb Martin, Boone County Sheriff’s DARE officer, said she uses Retro Bill’s videos in her DARE classes and when her students found out that the “real” Retro Bill was going to make an appearance, they were excited.

“Retro Bill takes all of the lessons we teach our students and gives them ideas on how to handle them,” she said. “Hopefully they will learn how to handle things and that it is OK to talk to someone.”

Retro Bill also travels to middle and high schools to teach students to stay away from drugs, alcohol and violence.

“I hope kids gravitate to my message and I believe I can make a difference,” he said.