Miss America Deidre Downs provided DeKalb County fifth-graders with a few words of inspiration Tuesday – “At first, if you don’t succeed, try, try, again.”

Downs, who was formerly Miss Alabama and is from Birmingham, knows first-hand how perseverance can lead to a successful future.

Downs spoke to more than 900 students and their families at the 22nd annual DeKalb County DARE graduation in the DeKalb County Schools Coliseum in Rainsville.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today, if it wasn’t for the DARE program,” Downs said. “Through the program, I learned what it meant to set goals and how the small decisions in life will determine what we will accomplish in the long run.”

Downs described herself as a tomboy growing up and never imagined wearing the crown of Miss America.

It was actually Down’s dream to become a pediatrician, that led her to enter the Miss Alabama pageant – for the scholarship money.

“I set the goal of being a doctor very early in life, and decided I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from accomplishing that dream, and I didn’t,” Downs said.

And it took Downs more than five tries to finally win Miss Alabama, a title that eventually allowed her to vie for Miss America.

“Never give up,” Downs said. “It is the little decisions along the way that help with the long term goals.

Downs gave an example of how a high school friend and classmate, who had also played sports with her, had chosen to dabble in drugs and alcohol, eventually leading the girl to quit school and volleyball, a sport her friend loved.

“It was the small decisions she made along the way that kept her from accomplishing her long-term goals,” Downs said. “What counts when you leave DARE is that you have learned how to make the right decisions in an effort to make your dreams come true.”

DARE, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is a joint project to prevent drug abuse and violence provided by the DeKalb County School System, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, Fort Payne Police Department, Fort Payne City School System, Fyffe Police Department and the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities program.

Fort Payne school superintendent Jimmy Cunningham also left the DARE graduates with the thought that drugs are only a stumbling block.

“Every one of you have great opportunities ahead of you,” Cunningham said. “The stumbling block that might get in your way could be drugs and I hope that you have left this educational program with the desire not to stumble with it.”

Trey Moore, a fifth-grader at Valley Head and one of the overall essay winners, read his essay during graduation.

“DARE has prepared me for dealing with situations in life and how not to turn to drugs in dealing with difficult situations,” he said.

The rest of the program included a group of fifth-graders from Moon Lake School presenting the song “American Tears,” Eric Jackson, a student at Collinsville, playing God Bless America on the piano and the presentation of overall essay winners.

Ray Stone, a member of the Optimist Club, also spoke to the students along with DeKalb County superintendent Charles Warren and Sheriff Cecil Reed.

Cpt. Jimmy Harris, the commander of DeKalb County Sheriff’s Mounted Unit, also presented Blake Fountaine, a student at Crossville, with a T-shirt for winning the poster contest.