November 19, 2014
Carson City, NV – Three Nevada high school students whose
videos were selected out of nearly 200 entries were announced by Governor Brian
Sandoval and Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto as winners of the Nevada
Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Video contest.
“Peer to peer education is critical to combatting prescription drug abuse. I
commend all of the students who participated in this contest and encourage them
to continue this important conversation,” said Sandoval. “Thank
you to the sponsors and judges who helped make this event possible and for your
commitment to building safe and livable communities throughout Nevada.”
“We received many creative entries from across Nevada,” said Masto.
“I am proud to showcase our students’ talent and appreciate their efforts to
illustrate the dangers of prescription drug abuse amongst teens. A special
thanks goes to the sponsors, cosponsors, and judges. This contest
continues our efforts to bring awareness about the problem of prescription drug
abuse in Nevada.”
The contest asked students enrolled in grades 6 through 12 in Nevada to
create short original public service announcement videos on the topic of
prescription drug abuse. The categories are 30 second YouTube, 15 second
Instagram, or 6.5 seconds VINE.
- The winning YouTube video was submitted by Nikki Hamada of Reno High
School in Reno. To watch the video,
click here.
- The winning Instagram video was submitted by Zachary Trone of Boulder
City High School in Boulder City. To watch the video,
click here.
- The winning Vine video was submitted by Matthew Loudenclos of Washoe
Innovations School in Reno. To watch the video,
click here.
The winning videos were selected by an independent panel of judges from 186
entries submitted by students from the following counties: Carson City, Clark,
Churchill, Douglas, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, and Washoe. The winning entries in
each category will receive $1,000; while second-place wins $750, and third-place
will earn $500, donated by Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, the
Nevada Statewide Coalition Partnership and the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy.
The winning PSAs are posted on the Attorney General's website at
http://ag.nv.gov/RXAbuse/. The three
students who won first-place in each category will be recognized at a
celebration in the Nevada Room at the Governor’s Mansion with all expenses paid
for them and their parents to attend.
Contest partners include the Nevada Statewide Coalition Partnership, Nevada
Division of Public and Behavioral Health, Nevada Board of Pharmacy and Solutions
Recovery, Inc.
“The biggest problem facing our children is drug addiction, particularly the
prescription pill epidemic,” said David Marlon, President of Solutions
Recovery Inc. “This NV-PSA.com program championed by the Attorney
General was a great step in educating our youth in a real way about the gravity
of this problem. I applaud all participants in this effort who clearly have
become a part of Nevada’s comeback.”
“Too often, users find out about the dangers of prescription drugs abuse too
late,” said Linda Lang, Director of Nevada Statewide Coalition
Partnership. “That’s why I am so pleased that so many of Nevada’s youth
got involved to address the issue. “I want to thank our community-based
coalitions for their work to judge the videos in the first round and for their
commitment to our community.”
The videos were judged on sound, aesthetics, originality and overall
messaging. The statewide judging panel consisted of Sandoval; Masto; Dale
Erquiaga, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Nevada Department of Education;
Stacy Woodbury, Executive Director, Nevada State Medical Association; and Marie
Mortera, Anchor, KSNV TV NBC 3.
To learn more about the contest and to see all the entries visit
www.nv-psa.com.
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