Arkansas High School Wins Stamp Out Smoking’s “The Big Pitch” Drama Contest - April 30th, 2009
Arkansas High School in Texarkana has been selected as the winner of “The Big Pitch” 2009, Stamp Out Smoking’s sixth annual tobacco-free drama contest. SOS received 48 entries for the “The Big Pitch” 2009, the most received in the history of the contest.
Arkansas High School will receive $2,000 in store credit to purchase media equipment or supplies, and students who participated in the writing and production of the winning television commercial will each receive a $25 iTunes gift card. Arkansas High School’s winning team includes: Julie Davis, Erica DeMarchi, Desteni Gamble, Stephanie Gomez and Ashlyn Rico.
Second place was awarded to Southside High School in Fort Smith, and it will receive $1,000 in store credit for media equipment or supplies. The following team members will receive $20 iTunes gift cards: Mason Kesner, Scott Rogers and Khoa Vu. North Little Rock East High School was chosen as the third-place winning team, receiving $500 in store credit for media equipment or supplies and team members winning $15 iTunes gift cards. Winning team members include: Claire Barton, Katie Jolly, Maddi Mosler and Leighton Teague.
For the second consecutive year, SOS has requested the help of Arkansans to select their favorite video entry through the “People’s Choice” Award. Videos approved for voting by the Arkansas Department of Health were posted on stampoutsmoking.com and were available for voting until noon April 20. After receiving nearly 4,000 votes, the public selected Haas Hall Academy in Farmington as the winner of the 2009 “People’s Choice” Award. Winning team members Brent Burgess, Serena De La Cruz, Mary Elizabeth Goodwin, Roy Lane and Megan Scarbrough will receive $25 iTunes gift cards.
“The Big Pitch” drama contest allows Arkansas middle, junior and high school students the opportunity to write and star in their own television commercials about the dangers of tobacco. This year, students were asked to address one of the following in their commercials:
1. Tell your peers why they should never start using tobacco.
2. Tell the ones you love why they should quit tobacco.
3. Tell Arkansans about the dangers of smokeless tobacco.
An independent panel of judges from Stephen F. Austin State University’s drama department in Nacogdoches, Texas evaluated the entries and selected the winners. Previous drama contest winners include Conway, Mountain Home, North Little Rock and Fayetteville high schools. Fayetteville High School’s winning entry from the 2008 contest was broadcast statewide as part of the SOS media campaign.
SOS is the media and public relations campaign of the Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program. For more information on SOS community and school programs, visit stampoutsmoking.com.
