Nevada Attorney General Awards Student Contest Winners


December 10, 2014

First Place Winners Receive $1K for Anti Prescription Drug Abuse Videos

Las Vegas, NV – Five Nevada high school students whose videos were selected out of nearly 200 entries were honored at a luncheon on Wednesday at the Governor’s mansion. Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, Solutions Recovery President Dave Marlon, and Nevada Statewide Coalition Partnership Director Linda Lang recognized the first place winners of the Nevada Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Video contest.

“Congratulations to the talented young people who won the video contest,” said Masto. “Today’s celebration would not be possible without the support of Linda Lang and Dave Marlon and the contests’ cosponsors. I hope the videos that the teens created and the sheer production process educates young people about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.”

"The messages related to issues surrounding prescription drug abuse were outstanding," said Lang. "Honoring Nevada's talented youth for their commitment to this issue is important and their videos will be utilized in Nevada's efforts to educate the public about prescription drug misuse."

“I am proud of all the children that submitted videos,” said Marlon.  “They were pointed, well put together and creative. I am inspired seeing Nevada kids teaching other local kids about the number one health problem, drug abuse.”

First place winners include:

  • Nikki Hamada and Matt McKinley, Reno High School, YouTube Category
  • Zachary Trone and Gabriel Lawrence, Boulder City High School, Instagram Category
  • Matthew Loudenclos, Washoe Innovations School, Vine Category
 

Nevada students enrolled in grades 6 through 12 were invited to create short original public service announcement video on the topic of prescription drug abuse prevention. The categories were 30 second YouTube, 15 second Instagram, and 6.5 seconds VINE. The winning entries in each category received $1,000; while second-place earned $750, and third-place won $500, donated by Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, the Nevada Statewide Coalition Partnership and the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy. In addition to prize money the first place winners received certificates of recognition.

The students were joined at the event by their families, friends, principals, counselors, and teachers.

The winning PSAs are posted on the Attorney General's website at http://ag.nv.gov/RXAbuse. To learn more about the contest and to see all the entries visit www.nv-psa.com.

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Pictured above: General Masto discusses prescription drug abuse and congratulates contest winners for their work.

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