Dewey Wells was fresh out of college, working with the Oxford Police Department, when he signed on to teach with the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program in 1975.

“They were looking for instructors who were officers, and I was a young patrolman not making much money, and that was a little extra money. Over time, I've really adopted the program and the mission that we have trying to help people out,” Wells explained.

The program was developed in 1972 by Mississippi State University’s Social Science Research Center and the Mississippi Office of Highway Safety, aimed at reducing DUI offenders across the state through four-week sessions of required class meetings.

Wells is the first instructor to reach the 50-year milestone and has seen changes in curriculum, technology and class makeup. He remains committed because of the impact MASEP has on participants.

On the first night of the court-ordered program, participants are encouraged to share their own stories.

“They want to tell their story. It's just nature, and they're talking to other people in the same boat. I always tell them they can learn a lot from each other.”

“It's rewarding in that I see people at the grocery store, and they come up to me and say ‘I was in your class.’ They start telling me how much they learned and how much good it did them,” Wells said.

Former MASEP participants aren’t the only ones Wells encounters in his daily errands. He volunteered with the Boy Scouts organization for over 35 years, so it’s not uncommon to see an Eagle Scout and reminisce on a project or trip from years ago.

His professional life involved working with juveniles and children facing difficult circumstances. During his 25-year career with the Oxford Police Department, he spent many years in juvenile programs before becoming the chief of detectives, investigating child abuse cases. 

“Being able to remove the child or remove the guilty party from a situation and stopping the hurt, it was important work.”

As he slowed down in retirement, he now devotes much of his time to his two teenage grandsons and church activities, but his outlook remains the same: “It’s just all about looking to do something for somebody else.”