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Two Students Win Anti-Tobacco Contest

September 09, 2010

TWO STUDENTS WIN ANTI-TOBACCO POSTER CONTEST

 

Lauren Henson, fifth grade student at Webster Elementary School and Autumn Bennett, a fourth grade student at Atwood-Hammond Grade school tied for first place in the 2009 Anti-Tobacco Poster Contest.   The contest was sponsored by the REALITY IL Teen Advisory Panel and the DeWitt-Piatt Bi-County Health Department. 

 Both students were awarded a $75 gift card as well as t-shirts with their artwork for the entire classroom.   Logan Knisley, a fifth grade student at Washington Elementary School in Monticello won third place.  Fourth and fifth grade students were asked to participate in the poster contest by entering their artwork centered around the theme “I have better things to do than use tobacco”.  

Classrooms were invited to participate in presentations regarding tobacco and secondhand smoke.   Members of the REALITY IL Teen Advisory Panel judged the artwork on originality, creativity, artistic value, and promotion of a clean and appropriate anti-tobacco message.  “The students did a great job” commented Nathan Bohannon, REALITY IL Teen Advisory Panel Team Leader.  “We had over 250 entries for the poster contest.   It was really hard to choose the winners” said Bohannon.     

REALITY IL is a teen-led anti-tobacco campaign for teens 13-18 years.    The program is funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health as part of the Illinois Tobacco-Free Communities Program.    The goal of the REALITY IL program is to educate teens on the health effects of tobacco use, prevent teens from beginning to smoke, assist smokers to quit, and empower teens to become advocates in their community.     

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