SOS Announces “The Big Pitch” 2010 Tobacco-Free Drama Contest - January 25th, 2010
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Jan. 25, 2010) – Stamp Out Smoking, the educational outreach media campaign for the Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program, announced today it will host the seventh annual tobacco-free drama contest. Titled “The Big Pitch,” the contest will give students across Arkansas the chance to write and star in their own television spot highlighting the dangers of tobacco. Through participation in the program, students statewide will have the opportunity to creatively develop a commercial with their peers, win money for their school, and participate in a professional production should their commercial be selected.
Last year’s winners, Julie Davis, Erica DeMarchi, Desteni Gamble, Stephanie Gomez and Ashlyn Rico from Arkansas High School, were awarded funds to purchase media equipment and supplies for their school.
In addition to winning a prize for their school, the students will also receive prizes. The winning school will receive a $2,000 in-store credit for media equipment or supplies, as well as a $50 iTunes gift card for each student on the winning team. The second-place winner will receive a $1,000 in-store credit for the school in media equipment or supplies and a $25 iTunes gift card for each team member. The third-place winner will receive a $500 in-store credit for media equipment or supplies and a $15 iTunes gift card for each team member. All qualifying entries will be posted on stampoutsmoking.com for the “People’s Choice” Award voting. This award returns for a third year, after nearly 4,000 votes were cast to select last year’s winner. The “People’s Choice” winner will receive a $25 iTunes gift card for each student on the team.
“The Big Pitch” is open to all Arkansas middle, junior and high schools. Entries must be submitted by a school sponsor, must be exactly 27 seconds in length and should focus on the dangers of tobacco. In order to be considered, entries must be postmarked by March 12.
“People’s Choice” entries will be posted to stampoutsmoking.com by 5 p.m. on March 19. Votes for the “People’s Choice” Award will be accepted until noon on April 11. A panel of out-of-state experts will select first, second and third place, and the winning school and its students may be featured in news releases, advertising and other publicity efforts by the SOS campaign.
Additionally, the selected commercial will be featured on the SOS Web site and will be considered for professional production and airing in the statewide media campaign. Winning schools will be notified by 5 p.m. on April 12.
“The Big Pitch” drama contest is a tobacco prevention program for the SOS media and public relations campaign. For official entry forms or more information on “The Big Pitch,” contact Luis Gonzalez at luis.gonzalez@cjrw.com or (501) 975-8322. For additional information on other tobacco prevention programs in your area, contact the Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program office at (501) 661-2953 or visit stampoutsmoking.com. For a program to help you quit tobacco, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
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Tobacco Prevention Coordinator Hunter Caraway, in accordance with the city of Melbourne, saw an opportunity to extend the smoke-free message within Izard County. As of November 24, 2009, a ban was established on smoking within 20 feet of all city-owned playground equipment. Learn more about how Hunter’s initiative helped provide a healthier environment for children and families.
Every year, countless Arkansans make New Year’s resolutions to become tobacco-free. Thanks to the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline, tobacco users throughout the state have access to free medication and cessation counseling to help them keep their 2010 resolutions to quit. Stamp Out Smoking encourages tobacco users to reach the Quitline by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW or 1-800-784-8669 this New Year’s.
Winners have been selected out of more than 1,600 entries received for the Stamp Out Smoking “Tobacco Tackle” essay contest – the highest participation in the four-year history. Entries were divided into three categories: grades 2-3, 4-6 and 7-9, with a first-, second- and third-place winner in each category.
Stamp Out Smoking encourages Arkansas tobacco users to participate in the Great American Smokeout on November 19. The Great American Smokeout is a national cessation day held every year by the American Cancer Society. It is a day selected to raise awareness of the dangers of tobacco and to help tobacco users quit, for at least one day, with the hope that they will quit for good.
Fifteen-year-old Parkview High School Student Josilyn Mitchell is a member of the Arkansas Youth Leadership Initiative Program (YLI). Josilyn was recently recognized as a finalist in the National Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids 2009 Youth Advocates of the Year Awards. The award honors top youth across the country who have fought hard to promote tobacco prevention legislation in their home states, to reduce tobacco marketing to kids in their communities and to stop their peers from using tobacco. Josilyn was the only finalist named from the state of Arkansas and Southern region.
In August 2010, Arkansas state colleges and universities will be required to make their campuses smoke-free, but two schools are taking matters into their own hands to start protecting students from secondhand smoke now. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have implemented smoke-free policies to provide healthier environments for learning, and their efforts have already yielded enrollment in tobacco quitting programs.
