Green Bay, Wis. – In honor of Red Ribbon Week, the Partners in Education Drug Alliance recently held a Chemical Awareness poster contest for area students.  Each year, fifth grade students throughout Brown County are encouraged to submit posters depicting a drug-free message. This year, 206 students from nine area schools participated in the contest.  The winners are:

1st Place: Josie Bruss of Langlade Elementary School, Green Bay
2nd Place: Sofia Schabel of Red Smith Elementary School, Green Bay
3rd Place: Madison Reed of St. Mark Lutheran Elementary School, Green Bay

In addition, the following students received an honorable mention for their artwork: Karin Heiser and Annika Olson, Langlade Elementary School; Catie McDonald and Clare Zakowski, King Elementary School; Samuel Jasmer, St. Mark Lutheran School; Maykou Yang, Jefferson Elementary School; Alexander Malcore, Red Smith Elementary School; Alexis Bateman, McAuliffe Elementary School; and Lindsay Lemke, St. Paul Catholic School.  The posters of the winning entries and honorable mention entries will be included in a drug abuse awareness calendar for 2009. 

All posters submitted will be available for the public to view at East Town Mall during Red Ribbon Week, Oct. 27 – 31, 2008.  A special thanks to the fifth grade classes at Red Smith, King, Jefferson, Langlade, McAuliffe, Wisconsin International School, St. Bernard, St. Paul Wrightstown and St. Mark Lutheran elementary schools for participating!

Red Ribbon week was first celebrated in 1986 in honor of Drug Enforcement Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who was killed while attempting to undercover the identities of key members of a Mexican drug cartel. It has since evolved into one of the most recognizable substance-abuse prevention programs across the nation. The community is encouraged to show their support of Red Ribbon Week by wearing red on Friday, Oct. 31, 2008.  Additional information on the Red Ribbon Week campaign is available at www.nfp.org.
 
The Partners in Education Drug Alliance is a coalition of business, education, health care, law enforcement and community partners who seek to share community resources and educate the public on issues relating to the prevention of alcohol and drug use by area youth>  The PIE Drug Alliances is funded by a Drug Free Community Grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce.  For more information about the Partners in Education Drug Alliance, please contact Rebecca Deschane at 593-3406 or rdeschane@titletown.org.