Candy lightner biography
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Candy Lightner
(1946-)
Synopsis
Born in 1946, activist Candy Lightner spent her early life in California. She went to American River College in Sacramento and later married Steve Lightner. The couple had three children, twin daughters Cari and Serena, and son Travis. In 1980, her daughter Cari was killed by a drunk driver. Lightner quickly formed Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (later Mothers Against Drunk Driving) to raise awareness on this problem and to fight for tough laws against offenders. She was appointed to a national commission on this issue by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. The following year, Lightner left MADD. She has continued to work on social and legal issues as an activist since then. She also serves as a consultant to organizations and companies.
Before Tragedy Struck
Born Candace Doddridge on May 30, 1946, activist Candy Lightner grew up in California. Her father served in the U.S. Air Force, and her mother worked for this military branch as a civilian.
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Candy Lightner
Candy Lightner (born 1946) transformed a anställda trage dy into a crusade against drunk driving. She founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a grass-roots organization dedicated to curbing alcohol-related traffic deaths.
Lightner was born May 30, 1946, to Dykes Charles Dodderidge and Katherine Dodderidge in Pasadena, California. She graduated from high school in 1964. After attending American River College in Sacramento, she married Steve Lightner, who was a U.S. Air Force serviceman like her father. Together they had three children. After her divorce from Steve, Candy Lightner supported herself by selling real estate in Fair Oaks, California. She had lived there for eight years when her life was turned upside down by tragedy on May 3, 1980.
Lightner's 13-year-old daughter Cari, while walking down a quiet street, was struck from behind bygd a bil. The impact threw Cari 125 feet, knocking off her shoes and mutilating her body so illa that it was not possible to s
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Candace Lightner is an internationally renowned activist widely credited as the moving force behind reshaping the nation's attitude toward drunk driving.
As MADD's Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board, Lightner masterminded MADD from a small California grass roots organization into an international corporation with more than 400 chapters worldwide and an annual budget of over 12 million dollars. Under her leadership, MADD’s membership base grew to more than two million. She managed a staff of more than fifty employees and thousands of volunteers.
Equally important, Lightner provided the solution-- vision, legislative strategy and consensus-building skills---necessary to move lawmakers into proactively changing the laws and saving lives. Ms. Lightner's political acumen led to the successful passage of more than 500 bills at the state and national levels, including legislation raising the drinking age to 21 -- a move credited with saving thousands of live