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'Be Smart-Don't Start' winners from central/west

 (TULSA, May 10, 2007) – Amber Gibson, a fourth grader at Buchanan Elementary in Oklahoma City, will produce her own 30-second TV public service announcement (PSA) about the dangers of tobacco use.

Her drawing and narrative was selected from hundreds of entries from central and western Oklahoma in the Be Smart-Don’t Start! storyboard contest for students, grades kindergarten through fifth. The program is co-sponsored by the American Lung Association Central States Serving Oklahoma, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, Cox Communications, the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
Nine more students were chosen as winners in their divisions:

K – 1st Grade Category
1st Place       Tateum Jones          Grant Public Schools, Grant
2nd Place      Joshua Hill               Surrey Hills Elementary, Yukon
3rd Place      Brandon Duong        Charles Haskell Elementary, Edmond

2nd – 3rd Grade Category
1st Place     Jaime Alexander        Springer Public Schools, Springer
2nd Place    Jordan Absher            Andrew Johnson Elementary, Oklahoma City
3rd Place     Ashlee Barr                 Washington Irving Elementary, Edmond

4th – 5th Grade Category
1st Place      Maddison Poteet         Colbert Eastward Elementary, Colbert
2nd Place     Roberto Morales         Rancho Village Elementary, Oklahoma City
3rd Place      Ismael Hernandez      Springer Public Schools, Springer

The students were honored at a May 10 awards ceremony in Oklahoma City. In addition to producing the public service announcement, Gibson received a bicycle and safety helmet. First-place winners received art kits and easels, second-place winners received volleyball/badminton sets and third-place winners received sleeping bags with flashlights.

 “Our Be Smart - Don't Start! winners are to be commended for not only their talent, but also their leadership in helping teach other children to avoid tobacco,” said Margaret Crump, senior vice president of community initiatives, American Lung Association of Central States Serving Oklahoma. “These children set the example, and their commitment has helped us grow the program and reach more Oklahoma kids with the Be Smart - Don't Start! message.”

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma President Wyndham Kidd said Be Smart-Don’t Start! helps promote a healthier lifestyle for Oklahomans.

“Education and prevention programs like Be Smart-Don’t Start! make a difference in children’s health,” Kidd said. “We are proud to be a leader in this program, which is reaching a generation of young people and their parents and teachers statewide.”

Additional contributors to the program include Tulsa Area Safe Kids; SYGMA, a food service distribution company in Pryor; and Wal-Mart Supercenter, 6625 S. Memorial, Tulsa.