Miss Washington teaches students about marketing of tobacco, alcohol

In partnership with the Education Service District, ESD, 113, the 2014 Miss Washington, Kailee Dunn, met with a group of nine students to teach them about Media Awareness. Specifically, how tobacco and alcohol are marketed towards youth. The high school students will take the information back their schools and present to their peers.

"This is one of the first partnerships between TAC and ESD 113," said Gracie Manlow, TAC Project Coordinator. "Hopefully we can continue to offer fun opportunities for the students with the help of ESD."

The students from TAC's Youth Arm were invited on a first come, first serve basis. Miss Washington met the group of students at the Grays Harbor Riverview Campus. She presented an interactive PowerPoint, alerting them about the varying marketing strategies of big name tobacco and alcohol manufacturers.

"Kailee was very down to earth and made her presentation engaging," Manlow said. "She used personal anecdotes which made a powerful impact on the students."

Dunn's presentation included commercials and magazine ads that are currently running in the media. The advertisements ranged from alcohol, tobacco, electronic cigarettes and marijuana. Dunn explained that these major companies use varying tactics to entice emotional responses out of consumers.

"When looking at beer advertisements, for example, terms like 'loyalty' and 'dependable' are tossed around," Dunn said. "This is to create the connection that alcohol ties in friendship or relationships."

The students were broken up into groups and rehearsed a portion of Dunn's presentation. Students have access to the resources and PowerPoint used by Dunn. Once the students felt confident enough, they were able to practice their presentation in front of Miss Washington.

"Kailee was great with all the students," Manlow said. "She gave constructive criticism and seemed very impressed with all of their progress in a short amount of time."

The trained youth will now have the opportunity to give the presentation at their respective schools. Unanimously, all the students decided this presentation would benefit their Substance Abuse Prevention Week in the spring.

"We want to provide our youth with fun and exciting opportunities," Manlow said. "If they can learn something valuable in the process, it's an all-around win."

If you are interested in learning more about TAC, please contact Gracie or Tanya and pacificcountytac@gmail.com. For a more in-depth update on the Substance Abuse Prevention Week, join TAC for their monthly meeting on April 20th at 3:15 p.m. in the Raymond High School Library.