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Tennessee and Florida National Guard were honored at the 50th Anniversary of the Daytona 500 on February 17, 2008
NCPRS has participated in the parade lap at the legendary Daytona 500 for over 13 years. This year it was an honor to have representatives from the Tennessee and Florida National Guard ride around the track in a two and a half ton military truck adorn with the Stay on Track and National Guard banner. It was a unique opportunity for them to witness over 300,000 excited NASCAR fans rise to their feet and thunderously cheer them on with genuine appreciation for their dedication and service to our country.
"The support the Army National Guard received from the fans was at most times overwhelming" said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Winchester. "It was a once in a lifetime experience."
Many of the Guard were able to take photos next to the Rick Hendrick #88 car, driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. From the pit area they were able to watch the race in style and witness the excitement and adrenaline first hand.
NCPRS would like to thank the National Guard for their participation in the parade lap. Stay on Track is fortunate enough to have the best role models in the country partnering with us to help youth across America live life to the fullest - drug free!
-Sharon Clarke
OPORDS for the 2009 School Year are due to SMSgt Vanessa Riley-Moore on or before 31 May. To emphasize, the goal is quality, not quantity.
By Sporting News Wire Service
February 10, 2008
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.
The "new" was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who on Saturday night won the 30th Budweiser Shootout in his first race in a Hendrick Motorsports car -- with new sponsors AMP Energy Drink and National Guard and new car No. 88.
New, too, was the first race at Daytona International Speedway with the winged racecar NASCAR introduced into competition at selected tracks last year.
The "old" was Hendrick's continued dominance of NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, a carryover from 2007, when the sport's most efficient team won 18 of the 36 points races. Earnhardt's teammates, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, finished third and fourth, respectively, behind runner-up Tony Stewart, as Hendrick cars claimed four of the first six positions.
The "borrowed" was Jeff Gordon's car -- and Johnson's, too, for that matter -- short-track backups called into service after their primary Shootout cars were wrecked in a practice crash Friday night.
The "blue" was Johnson's No. 48 cobalt-colored Chevrolet, which gave Earnhardt the push to take the lead on a three-lap run to the finish after the fourth caution of the 70-lap non-points event. With a car not stout enough to go for the victory, Johnson stayed behind Earnhardt and propelled him to the win.
In short, the honeymoon has already started for a Hendrick-Earnhardt marriage made in heaven.
"This is exactly what we needed coming out of the gate," said an elated Earnhardt, who left his family-founded Dale Earnhardt Inc. team to drive for Hendrick. "We've had such a long offseason, and this really made it worth it.
"We had a lot of help at the end from Jimmie. That was half the win. The other half was the car, being able to stay up front there at the end."
Earnhardt, who also won the Shootout in 2003, led 47 of the 70 laps Saturday night and earned the unqualified admiration of Stewart, who was second in laps led with nine.
"Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of the best drivers that's ever been in a restrictor-plate car," Stewart said. "He knows where to be on the racetrack, and he knows when to switch lines.
"I'm happy for him. He drove his butt off and put himself in the right places at the right times."
Reed Sorenson was fifth, followed by Casey Mears, Dave Blaney, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne.
Mears' No. 5 Chevrolet, however, failed the height stick test during post-race inspection. The car was deemed too low in the rear, but NASCAR vice president of communications Jim Hunter said the car might have been damaged and that NASCAR was still evaluating to determine the appropriate action.
After a break at 20 laps, the field restarted on Lap 21 with Earnhardt in the lead and Blaney second. On Lap 24, however, Jamie McMurray brought out the second caution of the race when he moved up the track across the nose of Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota and turned into the wall at the exit of Turn 4.
It didn't take long after a restart on Lap 28 for the Hendrick contingent to move to the front of the pack. By Lap 47, the Hendrick cars of Earnhardt, Gordon, Johnson and Mears occupied four of the top five positions.
A lap later, David Gilliland's blown right-front tire triggered a wreck that also took out Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr. After a restart on Lap 53, Earnhardt and Stewart battled for the lead until Kurt Busch's spin, along with a wreck behind him involving Ryan Newman and J.J. Yeley, brought out the fourth caution and set up the three-lap dash to the finish.
January 7, 2008
Staff Sgt. Winnette graduated 244 seventh graders from the Stay On Track program at Central Middle School. I had the opportunity to take photos at the graduation and meet some of the kids and faculty. The teachers were very appreciative, especially Paige Swanson, the school counselor. Ms. Swanson had requested the drug trailer last summer for her school due to the large number of at-risk students and gang influence. During the visit, Staff Sgt. Winnette told her of the upcoming Stay On Track program and Paige signed up Central Middle School on the spot. The result has been a positive one as seen in the following letter of appreciation from Ms. Swanson.
The Stay On Track program started at the beginning of the school year and ended in December. The other half of the seventh grade will begin the program in January. Next year, Staff Sgt. Winnette plans to teach the entire 7th and 8th grades.
(Click below images to see full size)
La. National Guard teaches students to Stay on Track
By Mandy M. Goodnight
mgoodnight@thetowntalk.com
(318) 487-6465
DEVILLE-- Hayden R. Lawrence Middle School sixth-graders made history Wednesday.
The more than 100 students were the first in the state to complete the Louisiana National Guard's Stay on Track program.
The evidence-based drug education program was introduced as a pilot at the school.
"You all have made history, and I know you are proud," Peggy LeBlanc, the school's physical education teacher, told the students during a graduation ceremony Wednesday.
"When you are in junior high and have to make hard decisions, remember Stay on Track," LeBlanc said.
Capt. Donna Jones, the Louisiana National Guard's Counterdrug Task Force, drug demand reduction administrator, headed the program in the school.
She said the ceremonies, there were two, are an important moment as Hayden R. Lawrence had laid the foundation for other children in the state to benefit from the 12-week program.
"I thank you for taking the chance to be the first," Jones said.
The program taught students the negative impact of drugs on their health, how to set goals, how to communicate a nd use refusal skills when met with peer pressure and how to be a role model.
The lessons involved students being involved in scenarios to test their refusal skills and taking part in team projects.
"There was a lot of interaction and activity in the program," Jones said. "The purpose of the program is to give children skills to be drug free."
Mack Winfree, 11, and Sydni Fontenot, 11, said they had a lot of fun in the program.
Mack said he was interested in learning more after finishing DARE in the fifth grade.
"I really can see what drugs can do to your body," he said.
Mack said he was ready to face peer pressure and be drug free.
Sydni said she learned more than she thought she would and enjoyed the team projects.
"It was fun and pretty cool to be a part of," she said.
Hayden R. Lawrence Principal Dwayne Floyd said the school had received a blessing from the program.
As part of the graduation ceremonies, students got a driver's license and were able to climb into a National Guard helicopter.
LeBlanc reminded her students that the licenses were not real, and "I don't want to see any of you driving this afternoon."
Jones said she is looking to expand the program to more schools. Stay on Track is designed for students in grades 6, 7 and 8.
Schools interested in participating in Stay on Track or want more information, call Jones at (318) 641-5823 or e-mail at donna.c.jones@us.army.mil.
Staying On Track, Thanks To Soldiers
Officials at a Rapid City middle school where students from low-income families think they've found a way to keep kids away from drugs. North Middle School is part of a national program that uses soldiers to teach students about the negative effects of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol.
It's like the DARE program but with soldiers from the Army National Guard. In its first year in South Dakota, "Stay On Track" is targeting 469 students at North Middle School in Rapid City.
"They look at the soldier in uniform and they admire that and they want to hear what we have to say," says Army First Lieutenant Stacy Keyser.
South Dakota National Guard Public Affairs Office
November 29, 2007
PAO 11-29-07
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Guard helps youth "Stay on Track"
Story by Staff Sgt. Kristi Palmer
South Dakota National Guard Drug Demand Reduction
RAPID CITY, S.D. (11/29/2007) - The South Dakota National Guard Drug Demand Reduction Team helped youth "Stay on Track" during October's Red Ribbon Week celebrated by schools throughout South Dakota.
"Our youth are extremely influenced by outside sources, with media and TV,"
said Patti Mudge, a sixth-grade English teacher at Rapid City's North Middle School. "It is important for the youth to hear a different message by an authority figure and National Guard Soldiers fill that role."
The National Guard Drug Demand Reduction Team teaches 10 "Stay on Track" classes a week at North Middle School.
"Our relationship with our education institutions is vital to keeping our youth healthy and safe," said Capt. Don Johnson, coordinator for the program.
"The 'Stay on Track' program has allowed the National Guard to grab the attention of young students and teach the negative affects of illegal drugs in a fun, learning environment."
North Middle School embraced the new National Guard substance abuse curriculum by committing its entire school year and all 469 students to the counterdrug program.
"When working to help a school community change a climate, it is important that the entire community and its youth are receiving the same information to assist them to acquire the same skills to make better choices and decisions," said Paula Long-Fox, school counselor.
During the 2007 Red Ribbon Week celebration, North Middle School chose "Stay on Track" as its theme for the week with students covering their school's doors, hallways and classrooms with the counterdrug theme.
"I was totally amazed and overwhelmed by how a school building this size used its creativity with the 'Stay on Track' theme in so many different ways,"
said Pam Teaney Thomas, youth development director for the Rapid City area schools.
The students and staff at North Middle School continued their support of the week-long event by spelling out, "STAY ON TRACK" for a National Guard helicopter flyover on Friday, Oct. 19, on the school's athletic field.
The National Guard teaches the "Stay on Track" curriculum at two other South Dakota schools reaching more than 600 youth and provides other counterdrug programs to more than 80 schools throughout the state.
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High resolution photo is available by request.
Photo cut line: North Middle School students and staff show off their Red Ribbon Week spirit by displaying their Stay on Track theme on Oct. 19 in Rapid City, S.D. (Army Photo by 1st Sgt. Donald Matthews)(RELEASED)
DDR Program provides comprehensive education for students
Rennsselaer Republic
Published: November 16, 2007
Indiana National Guard
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Pete Visclosky announced that legislation signed into law by the President includes $800,000 for anti-drug programs in Northwest Indiana.
As part of his efforts to fight and prevent crime in Northwest Indiana, Visclosky secured the funding for Indiana National Guard’s Drug Demand Reduction Program, which will provide support to several drug-prevention programs for area students in Northwest Indiana.
“The Drug Demand Reduction Program offers educational programs to prevent Northwest Indiana students from using drugs, which is a critical first step in reducing drug use and crime in our area,” said Visclosky. “This funding is a much-needed investment in our community, our children, and our quality of life.”
As part of the anti-drug programs, the Indiana National Guard provides drug education to over 20,000 elementary, middle school, and high school students throughout Indiana’s First Congressional District, with over 25 schools in Lake County alone.
The primary drug education program, known as "Stay on Track" is an interactive program that involves students, teachers, parents, and guardsmen, and helps students develop the skills needed to make smart decisions about their health and their future. Additional programs to “Stay on Track” include programs such as “Checkmate Drugs,” “Learning for Life Program,” and “Mobile Team Challenge.” The funding was part of the FY 2008 Defense Appropriations bill that the President signed into law yesterday.
“More students in Northwest Indiana will say no to drugs because of Congressman Visclosky’s support for this anti-drug program,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Luckett, who will oversee the Drug Demand Reduction Program. “The Indiana National Guard is better able to serve our communities because Congressman Visclosky is part of the team dedicated to combating illegal drug use.”
Story online at: http://www.rensselaerrepublican.com/
articles/2007/11/17/news/area/area01.txt
November 13, 2007
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE:
CONTACT:Liz Conway
Director of Development & Communications
Drug Free Pennsylvania
conway@drugfreepa.org
SOUND OFF: STATEWIDE CONTEST TO PREVENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Harrisburg – To help educate middle school students on becoming media savvy about drug and alcohol use, the Pennsylvania National Guard Counterdrug Program and Drug Free Pennsylvania are partnering in a statewide contest called “Sound Off: Pennsylvania’s Drug Prevention Television/Radio Public Service Announcement Contest.”
The “Sound Off” contest will give students the opportunity to learn about media production by creating positive messages that drugs and alcohol do not have to be a part of their lives through a radio or television public service announcement. Media production is an important component of media literacy education, an initiative being put forth by both organizations through school-based lessons that teach youth to be better consumers of the media.
“Kids spend a tremendous amount of time every day using media that often glamorize drug and alcohol use,” said Dr. Glenn Zehner, Chief Program Officer of Drug Free Pennsylvania. “Teaching youth to critically analyze commercial messages and then create their own message through a public service announcement will empower them to make more informed and healthier decisions.”
The contest is open to all public, private, and home-educated Pennsylvania middle school students. The organizations will be accepting amateur 30 second radio and television entries until April 20, 2008. The winning team will participate in a three-day event at Fort Indiantown Gap in Annville, Pennsylvania to professionally produce their public service announcements that will be aired on television or radio stations throughout the state. In addition, the winning team will be invited to present their public service announcements to educators at a statewide media literacy conference in Harrisburg on June 20, 2008.“The National Guard and Drug Free Pennsylvania are proud to be offering such a competition to youth in the Commonwealth,” said Major Gilbert Durand, the Drug Demand Reduction Administrator for the Pennsylvania National Guard. “This competition is a fun way to get kids involved in healthy educational activities.”
Teachers or parents that are interested in registering youth for the competition are encouraged to visit www.medialitpa.org to receive the official contest rules, instructions and sample lessons of producing a public service announcement. For questions about the contest please contact the Pennsylvania National Guard Counterdrug Program at 717-861-2857 or ddr@counterdrug.org.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Union Leader (Local) -- National Guard anti-drug course gets kids’ attention -- Two members of the National Guard have been fixtures at Parkside Middle School this fall, teaching a "drug demand reduction" program debuting nationwide. While Parkside is the only school in New Hampshire with the curriculum, the program employs nearly 2,500 soldiers and airmen across the country. Air Force Master Sgt. Dan Ward and Army Staff Sgt. Craig Courser are at Parkside one period a day, four days a week. They just wrapped up the introductory anti-drug course for 180 sixth-graders, and are about to start more advanced classes for seventh-graders. Parkside Principal Dawn Pirog said she's happy with the program and cites hallway chatter as proof positive the Guardsmen are having some effect. http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=National+Guard's+anti-drug+course+gets+kids'+attention&articleId=916d551e-e637-4f62-9897-c2cafe67feae
Fun opportunity for the National Guard and Stay on Track program to participate in Monster Truck events across the country! Go to www.monsterjamonline.com to view the event schedule. Monster Truck is looking for schools to participate in the pre-event activities/parades. As a bonus, anyone participating in a parade receives FREE admission to the show!!!!! What a GREAT incentive piece for the Stay on Track program!! Please call Gail Sneed or Todd Smekens at 386-760-2254 or email gsneed@ncprs.org or tsmekens@ncprs.org for more information. Please take advantage of this fun opportunity!!!
It’s JUNIOR! He’ll drive the Guard car next year
By Master Sgt. Bob Haskell
National Guard Bureau
DALLAS – Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose family’s name is part and parcel with the American motorsports legend, will drive the Chevrolet that the National Guard will sponsor in NASCAR’s top-level Sprint Cup series next year.
Earnhardt, “Junior” to the millions who follow the sport, will drive the 88 car for Hendrick Motorsports’ new team that will have PepsiCo products Mountain Dew and AMP Energy as its other major sponsors, it was announced during a nationally televised press conference here Sept. 19.
The popularity of the Earnhardt name raises the Guard’s participation in one of America’s two most popular spectator sports, the National Football League being the other, to a new level, said Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, director of the Army National Guard.
NASCAR appeals to the same age group, 18-24, that is the prime recruiting group for the Guard and the other military services, Vaughn pointed out. The Army Guard has to recruit about 70,000 new people every year, he said at the Dallas Convention Center.
“If the strength of our recruiting is the same place that you run NASCAR, which it is, and if Dale Earnhardt Jr., is the most popular of all the NASCAR drivers, which he is, than you would think that would make a difference in the number of people who will follow the Guard, the Guard car, and maybe effectively think about joining our team,” Vaughn elaborated.
“And that’s all we ask him to do. Dale will have an enormous, enormous impact on that effort,” Vaughn predicted. “People will look at the partnership this way: The Guard is a great way to serve. It’s a first-class organization. And I like Dale Earnhardt Jr. So does the Guard. I’m going to have to think about that.”
“I think it’s important to support the military, especially now,” said Earnhardt about his new affiliation with the National Guard.
Previous Guard car drivers have been Todd Bodine and Greg Biffle who finished second in the Nextel Cup Series in 2005. Casey Mears is this year’s driver.
Earnhardt, 32, has won 17 Cup-level races and two NASCAR Busch Series championships. He is the son of racing legend Dale Earnhardt Sr., who was killed in a crash on the final corner of the final lap of the NASCAR season’s inaugural race, the Daytona 500, in February 2001. He is the grandson and nephew of, respectively, NASCAR pioneers Ralph Earnhardt and Morgan Shepherd. His mother’s father, Robert Gee, built NASCAR cars.
Earnhardt will replace Mears as the driver for the Guard car and will add his name and pedigree to the Hendrick lineup of dominating drivers that include Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
Mears will replace Kyle Busch, who is leaving the Hendrick team for the Joe Gibbs team, after one season as the No. 25 Guard/GMAC Chevrolet car driver, and Earnhardt will begin racing for Hendrick Motorsports after severing his ties with Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company that his father founded.
Earnhardt has signed a five-year contract with Hendrick Motorsports, he announced in June. His new car number is no accident. He has driven the No. 8 Chevrolet since he entered the Cup Series in 1999. His grandfather raced with that number, as well as 88, and Dale Sr., drove the 8 car early in his career. Earnhardt family politics, however, precluded Junior from bringing the famed single-digit number to the Hendrick team.
“We considered every number with 8 in it that was available,” he told a room filled with media and Texas Army Guard recruiters, distinctive in their Army Combat Uniforms.
Earnhardt is currently in 13th place, and out of this year’s 12-car chase for the Nextel Cup, after finishing 16th in the Sylvania 300 on Sept. 16 at the New Hampshire International Speedway. He has started on the pole, in first place, once this season but has yet to win a race. He has finished among the top five six times, and he has been among the top 10 drivers in 10 races.
He did qualify for the chase last year, beginning the season’s 10-race championship series in sixth place and finishing fifth, 147 points behind Cup victor Jimmie Johnson.
Earnhardt is joining the Hendricks team that has ruled the NASCAR roost in 2007. Johnson and Gordon, with 10 victories and 30 top five-finishes between them, are tied for the lead with 5,210 points after 27 races. Kyle Busch, with one victory and a total of 22 top-five and top-10 finishes, is fifth in the Nextel Cup standings.
All four Hendricks teams finished the Sylvania 300 among the top 10 in New Hampshire – Gordon second, Busch fourth, Johnson sixth and Mears eighth in an unusual mathematical sequence.
Mears is in 15th place after his strong performance at New Hampshire where he started 15th. He has one victory in the Guard/GMAC Chevrolet, coincidentally in the Memorial Day Coca-Cola 600 which raised money for the families of U.S. military troops. Ten drivers raced in cars painted in military camouflage patterns to signal their support for that cause.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., left, will drive the National Guard car next year in NASCARS’s top-level Sprint Cup series for Hendrick Motorsports. He stood with Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, director of the Army National Guard, and Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Motorsports owner, in Dallas where the announcement was made on Sept. 19. (Photo by Master Sgt. Bob Haskell, National Guard Bureau)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will drive the National Guard car next year in NASCAR’s top-level Sprint Cup Series, stands tall among National Guard Soldiers in Dallas where the announcement was made Sept. 19, 2007. Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, director of the Army National Guard, left, predicted that Earnhardt will attract more people to National Guard service. (Photo by Master Sgt. Bob Haskell, National Guard Bureau)