The seventh annual Be Smart—Don’t Start! Storyboard Contest, designed to educate kids about the dangers of tobacco, honored its 2010 winners at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City on May 5th. Through the contest, Oklahoma elementary students write and draw a 30-second commercial to teach others about the dangers of tobacco.

Asher Clift, a second grader at Centennial Elementary in Edmond, Okla., and Karlie Stanley, a first grader at Stilwell Elementary in Stilwell, Okla., were selected as central/western and eastern Oklahoma grand prize winners respectively. Two 30-second videos will feature animated versions of the children’s artwork and their own voices reading their narratives. Throughout the summer, Clift and Stanley will have their videos distributed to television and radio stations, posted on multiple websites, played at local sports events and promoted across the state.

Clift and Stanley’s drawings and narratives were chosen from more than 2,600 entries across the state in grades kindergarten through fifth. Eighteen additional students were chosen as winners in their grade categories:

Central/Western Oklahoma Winners

K – 1^st Grade Category

1^st Place                 Jeston Idleman                  Healdton Elementary, Healdton

2nd Place              Cameron Unruh                Newcastle Elementary, Newcastle

3rd Place               Reese Lugafet                   Washington Irving Elementary, Edmond

2^nd – 3^rd Grade Category

1^st Place                 Jasmine Williams               Newcastle Elementary, Newcastle

2^nd Place                Raegan Yingling               Newcastle Elementary, Newcastle

3^rd Place                 Emily Miller                      Roosevelt Elementary, Norman

4^th – 5^th Grade Category

1^st Place                 Patricia Liu                        Centennial Elementary, Edmond

2^nd Place                Paisley Jaye                       Parkland Elementary, Yukon

3^rd Place                 Nikki Vardaman               Soldier Creek Elementary, Midwest City

Eastern Oklahoma Winners

K – 1st Grade Category

1^st Place                 Dylan Jenkins                    Boy Scout Pack 835, Owasso

2^nd Place                Kaylee Joseph                   Stilwell Elementary, Stilwell

3^rd Place                 Savannah Simmons           Idabel Primary South, Idabel

2^nd – 3^rd Grade Category

1^st Place                 Katie Stephenson              Stilwell Elementary, Stilwell

2^nd Place                Arisa Bunch                      Stilwell Elementary, Stilwell

3^rd Place                 Tori Blemmel                    Talihina Elementary, Talihina

4^th – 5^th Grade Category

1^st Place                 Ally Ryan                          Jenks Southeast Elementary, Tulsa

2^nd Place                Jaycee Soap                       Stilwell Elementary, Stilwell

3^rd Place                 Madison Fishinghawk       Locust Grove Upper Elementary, Locust Grove

All winners received a medal, a monetary award and additional gifts. Teachers of winning students received gift cards for school supplies. The Be Smart—Don’t Start! Storyboard Contest is sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, the American Lung Association of the Central States serving Oklahoma, the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma State Department of Health.