Billings locals who choose to leave their cars at the bar at the end of the night, instead of driving themselves home intoxicated, might just find a little thank-you gift on their windshields the next morning, from the Montana Bar Fairies.
Montana Bar Fairies, a nonprofit started in Flathead Velley two years ago, is on a mission to lower drunk driving fatalities by changing the drinking and driving culture in Montana. Their tactic? To promote sober driving choices with positive reinforcement.
They call it “fairy-ing.” They leave a $5 coffee gift card with a thank you note from Montana Bar Fairies with a picture and story of a local victim of drunk driving.
“I think it’s really impactful for people to see a familiar face,” co-founder Carlie Seymour said. “Montana’s not very big, and so when one person dies, a whole community feels it.”
Seymour launched the project with her mom, Beth McBride after Seymour’s brother (and McBride’s son) Bobby Dewbre died on his 21st birthday. He was struck by a car crossing the street to his sober ride home by a repeat-offender drunk driver.
What started as a compelling need to make a change in their own community is growing into an initiative reaching across county and state borders.
Montana Bar Fairies have spread their wings from Flathead County to Missoula, Great Falls, Bozeman and most recently, Billings. Their efforts have even caught on outside of Montana, with volunteers taking the lead in King County, Washington, and in Missouri.
“Fairy-ing” has been underway for about a month now in Billings, by volunteer Kelsey Thelen. It’s a one-woman team right now and they’re looking for more volunteers to expand their efforts within the Magic City. For now, Thelen’s husband has been keeping her company on outings.
Aside from Bar Fairy volunteers, the group is also looking for coffee/food card donations. One local business owner has already offered help. Bonny Perkins of The Sourdough Bagel on North 29th Street downtown, donated 100 gift cards from her shop, close to $500 in value.
“We have been impacted by drunk driving — probably like most Montanans — and love the mission of the Montana Bar Fairies,” Perkins said. “We follow them on social media and caught a video, realizing a great customer of ours, Kelsey, is a Bar Fairy for the Billings chapter and reached out to her about donating.”
Thelen’s sister Jamie joined her on a Bar Fairy outing when she was visiting in August. It was their social media video that went viral recently, garnering national attention to the group. Their positive reinforcement is resonating with people nationwide, with supportive comments from people in states across the country. The story of Montana Bar Fairies was even picked up by People Magazine in September.
“We’ve all made poor choices in our lives, but drunk driving is one that can have tremendous, irreparable consequences. The Montana Bar Fairies have created a great way to support each other and encourage/reward better choices, rather than shaming,” Perkins said. “I really appreciate they share photos and brief stories of people killed by drunk driving.”
A picture and story Thelen shares is one of her sister Sara. Thelen’s connection to the cause mirrors McBride’s and Seymour’s. Sara, her older sister by two years, died in 2007, after celebrating the first day of her new job. She accepted a ride home from someone who had been drinking. The driver survived the crash. She did not. She was 21.
Like countless others across the country, Montana Bar Fairies’ story and mission resonated deeply with Thelen.
“It feels good to feel like you can finally do something to make a change,” she said. “Instead of just saying, ‘Oh, it needs to change,’ to actually be involved with the change is really nice.”
Leaving small gifts to those who make sober driving choices isn’t the only way Montana Bar Fairies is working for change. They also support families affected by drunk driving tragedies through community outreach programs and advocate for stronger DUI laws.
On Oct. 1, House Bill 267, commonly known as Bobby’s Law, goes into effect. Since the death of Bobby over two years ago, McBride and Seymour have been lobbying for tougher punishments for DUIs that result in death. HB 267 will do just that.
Seymour said before the passing of Bobby’s Law, legal consequences for DUI-related fatalities were much less severe. She said the driver who killed Bobby was only charged with misdemeanors despite having 0.20 blood alcohol content — which is more than double the legal limit. He wasn’t considered inherently negligent.
The driver received the maximum sentencing — one year for aggravated DUI, plus six months for carelessness resulting in bodily injury or death. The driver was sentenced to a total of 18 months behind bars.
Bobby’s Law makes it an automatic felony for causing a fatality while blood alcohol content is 0.16 or above, or if the offender has previous DUI restrictions. It also sets the minimum sentence at three years in state prison, with a maximum of 30 years. Seymour noted that previously, Montana didn’t have a minimum sentencing requirement for such cases.
“If you’re driving at more than double the legal limit and you hit a pedestrian, like in the case of my brother, that should be criminal negligence, in my opinion and (in) the opinion of a lot of people. But previously, not in the opinion of Montana State Law,” Seymour said.
“It’s not about getting back at the specific person who killed my brother. But instead, for other families who are in this position, not have to worry about running into that person at the grocery store while they’re in immediate grief,” she said. “We believe that people can change and are redeemable but we’re making sure that the victims have justice and that the punishment is proportionate to the crime.”
The community can get involved or donate to Montana Bar Fairies through their website, montanabarfairies.org. To donate directly to the Billings chapter, contact Kelsey, at kelsey@montanabarfairies.org.
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Lillian Palmer
Business and Health Reporter
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