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2006 'Don't Start' winners, central/western Okla.

(TULSA, May 9, 2006) – Ethan Dixon, a second grader at Central Elementary in Wynnewood, Okla., will produce his own 30-second television public service announcement (PSA) with a very important message:  that Oklahoma kids should never start smoking.

His drawing and narrative was selected from more than 1,200 central and western Oklahoma entries in the Don’t Start smoking storyboard contest for students, grades kindergarten through fifth. The program is co-sponsored by the American Lung Association of Oklahoma, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, Cox Communications and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Nine more students were chosen as winners in their divisions:

K – 1st Grade Category

1st Place                        Ian Stone                        Charles Haskell Elementary, Edmond

2nd Place                        Harriet Norcross           Charles Haskell Elementary, Edmond

3rd Place                        Joshua Crouch               Caddo Elementary, Caddo

2nd – 3rd Grade Category

1st Place                        Whitney Kleinpeter         Fairview Elementary, Elk City

2nd Place                        Elizabeth Williams          Jones Elementary, Jones

3rd Place                        Roberto Morales            Rancho Village Elementary, Oklahoma City

4th – 5th Grade Category

1st Place                        Emily Haas                     Mustang Valley Elementary, Mustang

2nd Place                        Mariah Hooper             Maryetta Elementary, Stilwell

3rd Place                        Quan Nguyen                Orvis Riser Elementary, Edmond

The students were honored at a May 9 awards ceremony in Oklahoma City. In addition to producing the public service announcement, Dixon received a bicycle and safety helmet. First-place winners received personal CD players, second-place winners received art kits with easels and third-place winners received art kits.

 “The average age for children to start smoking is 11 years old,” said Margaret Crump, chief executive officer, American Lung Association of Oklahoma, “and the starting age is getting younger every year. Oklahoma has one of the highest smoking rates in the nation. We know it’s more critical than ever to reach each student early in an effort to dissuade them from ever starting to smoke.”

Linda Sponsler, vice president of corporate communications, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, said that programs such as Don’t Start make an impact. “The State of the State’s Health Report gives credit to education and prevention programs like Don’t Start for making a difference in children’s health,” she said. “We continue to build upon the success of this program to reach more and more teachers, students and parents statewide.”

Additional contributors to the program included Tulsa Area Safe Kids; Hobby Lobby, East 71st Street, Tulsa; and Wal-Mart Supercenters in Moore and Sand Springs, and 81st and Lewis in Tulsa.