Pat McManus is a Song Writer, Producer, Recording Artist and Counselor that writes, produces and performs songs about meaningful, real life issues that touch all of us. Pat utilizes music and the arts as teaching tools to help teach methods and skills to prevent bullying and create a caring community. He utilizes his expertise as a program developer, counselor and song writer to create compelling song lyrics, and classroom and family activities, to help children learn life skills and retain the skills taught. Pat McManus began his career as a counselor utilizing songs as teaching tools with teens at a hospital in-patient alcoholism and drug treatment unit. Pat used music in therapy to reach and teach kids that could not be reached through traditional therapeutic approaches. Pat created a program to help reduce weekend elopements from treatment. This program required that each patient played a needed role in the production of an interactive program that was affectionately called “Pat and The Addicts.” Pat also used music in therapy at Story County Hospital working with patients with anorexia and bulimia. Ray Johnson, a broadcaster, and Pat McManus founded Rock In Prevention (Rock) in 1990. The program founding sponsor was the Iowa Broadcasters Association which helped the program grow very fast. Today, Rock In Prevention has received several honors and has trained over 1.5 million students and teachers in 14 states. The current mission of Rock In Prevention, Inc. is to use music and interactive curriculum to teach students, teachers, parents and guardians, methods and skills to prevent bullying and alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. Rock teaches children and families life skills for success, health and wellness, personal and social skills and increases parental involvement in children’s education. Students are taught realistic refusal skills to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. A child’s ability to learn is significantly diminished when they are in a school where they do not feel safe and supported. Rock curriculum helps create a caring community through training students, parents and teachers how to be up-standers and heroes for one another. Students, teachers and parents are trained in what to say and what to do when confronted with bullying situations. Pat’s program Rock In Prevention is an evidence based prevention program that has completed multi-year research project that was funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention SAMHSA. Pat works with Dr. Mack Shelley, Iowa State University researcher and recently have submitted a grant to create six new bullying prevention modules of the Rock program that address Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Rock teaches empathy for those that are different from ourselves: school by school and around the world. Socio emotional learning is what ultimately leads a child to success with academics and in life. Mr. McManus is a member in good standing of the American School Counselors Association. He is also a Publisher and Writer Member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Pat has produced, written and performed songs from many genres including rock, pop, blues, country, and Meskwaki traditional songs. He has produced and mentored younger artists from multiple genres, hip hop to opera, hardcore to country, to pop, vocal jazz and rock. Pat is a producer, songwriter, engineer, arranger, and recording artist that started playing guitar in 1981 at age 23 years old. In 1986, Pat McManus released his first album, “Your Home Town” with several of his local music heroes. This has led to 18 additional published releases on vinyl, cassette tape, compact disc and digital releases. Pat has written the music and copy for the Annual Rock In Prevention – Iowa Broadcasters Association (IBA) Public Service Announcement Campaigns for past 24 years. Pat McManus currently serves on the Bridges Of Iowa Board of Directors. Bridges of Iowa provides substance abuse treatment and counseling with individuals that have been incarcerated and/or are faced with prison time for drug and alcohol related charges. Family counseling and support is also provided.