LAFP Foundation Announces Louisiana Tar Wars® Poster Contest Winner!!!

Brooke Hamilton, a fifth-grade student from Dalton Elementary in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the 2009 Louisiana Tar Wars® poster contest winner. 
The Louisiana Tar Wars® program is a part of Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians Foundation. The LAFP Foundation sponsors the statewide poster contest and reception.

Ms. Hamilton's poster was selected as Louisiana’s winner during the Tar Wars® poster contest judging held May 15th at the LAFP office in Baton Rouge, LA. Tar Wars® poster contest judges were Pam Malveaux with The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, Dr. Harold Ishler, LAFP Past President and Clay CoCo with Med Job Louisiana.

Ms. Hamilton heard the Tar Wars® message during a classroom presentation given by Dr. Richard Burroughs, Medical Oncologist and Director of Pennington Cancer Center at Baton Rouge General Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The LAFP Foundation will offer Ms. Hamilton a $1,000 scholarship to attend the annual Tar Wars® national poster contest and awards ceremony, sponsored by American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).  This year’s national conference will be held Monday-Tuesday, July 13-14, at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. 

Thousands of family physicians and healthcare workers across the country present Tar Wars® programs to fourth- and fifth-graders in their local schools every year. This national initiative of AAFP is designed to teach kids about the short-term, image-based consequences of tobacco use, the costs associated with using tobacco products and the advertising techniques used by the tobacco industry to market its products to youth. The follow-up poster contest is conducted at the local, state and national levels to reinforce the Tar Wars® message.

Thank you to every LAFP member and volunteer who made a Tar Wars® presentation this year! If you would like to become a Tar Wars® presenter or to get more information for your school about this program, please contact the LAFP or visit the Tar Wars® Web site for more information.
Jade Verret       

Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians                                          
919 Tara Boulevard                                            
Baton Rouge, LA 70806                                     
Phone: 225.923.3313                                                                              
Email: jverret@lafp.org