Sunman student takes message to Washington
Wanda English Burnett - Editor

When 10-year-old Larissa Roepke of Sunman, decided to enter a poster contest at her elementary school during the last school year, little did she know it would win and win big!

After Larissa was declared the winner from Sunman Elementary, she was selected the 2004 Tar Wars Indiana State Poster Contest winner and will represent the state at the national level on Monday, July 19, in Washington, DC.

The poster she designed featured a race car speeding around the track, displaying the message, "The only smoke I like is the smoke behind the tires. Don't Smoke!" Her poster was chosen out of 89 entries from schools across the state - all winners from their respective schools.

The Sunman girl said she decided to use the race car theme because she and mother Regina like Nascar. They will travel together to Washington, with Regina saying she is a little nervous because this will be her first flight. Larissa says she's excited and hopes to win because the prize will be an expense free trip to Disneyland.

When Larissa was named the state winner, her parents were notified by letter. Her father, Mark, said he almost threw the envelope out because he wasn't sure exactly what it was. After further investigation, he and wife Nancy realized Larissa had won the state contest. "We were really excited," they noted recently.

Larissa has had many recognitions since being declared the winner of the Tar Wars Poster Contest for 4th and 5th grade students. She was chosen to throw the first pitch at an
Indians game in Indianapolis on June 6, where she was honored along with two runners-up and five special award winners during a ceremony at Victory Field. She has received a $100 savings bond and will be traveling to French Lick where she will participate in a Presidential Banquet after returning from Washington.

Tar Wars is a pro-health tobacco-free prevention and education program that is locally sponsored by the Indiana Academy of Family Physicians Foundation and funded by Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation (ITPC).

According to information from Pat Thomas local coordinator for the ITPC, Tar Wars focuses on attitudes about tobacco use, the effects of tobacco on the body, and how different messages in tobacco advertising influence people. Students create posters demonstrating what they have learned about tobacco-free messages. These posters are then entered into local, state and national contests.