Man speaking out against bullying

One of the final stops in Borderland for motivational speaker Daniel Heidt will be at Rainy River Community College in International Falls tomorrow night.
Heidt, a former bodyguard for Hollywood stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, now speaks to kids and adults alike about preventing bullying in schools and the workplace.
He is an expert on violence prevention—and focuses on intervention and prevention for confronting bullying.
The community forum will be held at the RRCC theatre from 7-8:30 p.m. tomorrow.
On Friday, Heidt took time to talk to Fort High students about bullying as he’s been doing at schools on both sides of the border. He was well-received.
“I’ve talked to a lot of kids and the majority thought it was really good and clear,” said FFHS guidance counsellor Mary Hickling.
Hickling added she spoke to several senior students who were skeptical about how interesting the topic might be but were pleasantly surprised by Heidt’s presentation.
“It really sparked their interest when the students learned people they looked up to had similar problems,” Hickling said of Heidt’s personal examples of some of the famous people he knew and how they dealt with difficult situations.
“He talks at a level the kids can understand,” said Cathie Sinninghe, a local resident involved with the “In Place” youth drop-in centre in the Falls, which hosted a talk by Heidt on Friday night.
She noted his discussion not only teaches kids how to deal with difficult situations but also to help kids that are being bullied.
“He really cares about the kids,” she said, adding some kids feel as though they aren’t being listened to when it comes to bullying.
“Many students stayed afterwards to talk to him and shake his hand,” Hickling said. “Several students went to talk to him about their own situation to get advice.
“One piece of which was to talk to their guidance counselors or other adult they trust.
“It’s been one of our better assemblies,” Hickling concluded. “We’re very pleased.”