Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 4, 1993 TAG: 9303040463
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE SIMPSON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
PROM PROMISE CAMPAIGN GETS ENTHUSIASTIC KICKOFF
Junior Corey Moore said he doesn't need alcohol to have fun.Moore, a member of Patrick Henry High School's PRIDE team, is one of about 80 students and faculty members from the Roanoke and Lynchburg areas who turned out at Nationwide Insurance Co.'s Prom Promise kickoff held Tuesday at Towers Shopping Center.
"We're trying to gather them together so we can get the message out . . . that if you can stay alcohol- and drug-free on prom night, you can do it on any night," said Richard Gandarilla, regional assistant for personnel at Nationwide. The company joined the effort to stay safe and sober on prom night four years ago. This is the third year Prom Promise has been sponsored in the Roanoke Valley.
More than 63 high schools in the Roanoke and Lynchburg areas are expected to participate in the program this year. Last year, more than 5,772 students signed the Prom Promise, which says "whether I attend prom or not, I promise not to use alcohol or drugs on prom night. We can still have a good time, but we can also be safe, sober and alive."
In 1992, 41 people died in 1,000 alcohol-related crashes in Virginia.
Nationwide sponsors a five-area contest in Virginia to serve as an incentive to sign the pledge. Schools in each area compete against others of comparable size to have the greatest percentage of students sign the pledge. The champion school from each division wins $3,000.
"If a student violates that pledge, the school is disqualified," Gandarilla said.
Lord Botetourt High School won last year. About 94 percent to 95 percent of the students signed last year, said Richard Pauley, Nationwide sponsor for Lord Botetourt.