Stamp Out Smoking Announces Winners of 2008 Essay Contest - June 18th, 2008
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (June 12, 2008) – Winners have been selected out of nearly 1,000 entries received for the Stamp Out Smoking “Clean Air Avengers” essay contest. 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.
SOS, the media and public relations campaign of the Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program, hosts an annual essay contest encouraging Arkansas youth to write essays about the heroes in their lives who exemplify healthy and tobacco-free lifestyles.
In the category for grades 2-3, Abigail Walker, a third grader from Benton, won first place, while Mary Beth McKay, a third grader from Vilonia, and Emily Dippel, a second grader from Sherwood, placed second and third. In the category for grades 4-6, Loryn Rene Teater, a sixth grade student from Monticello, took home the first-place prize. Jordan Dabdub, a fourth grade student from Fort Smith, was awarded second place and Crystal Bles, a fifth grader from Shirley, came in third. In the category for grades 7-9, Brandyn Young, a seventh grade student from Fayetteville, was awarded first place, while Angelique Leasure, an eighth grader from Paragould, and Acadia Kimball, a seventh grader from Rogers, placed second and third.
An independent panel of judges from Stephen F. Austin State University’s English department in Nacogdoches, Texas scored the entries and selected the winners. All winning essays are posted on stampoutsmoking.com.
The “Clean Air Avengers” essay contest is a tobacco prevention program for the SOS media and public relations campaign. 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.
