Northern LightsNews f l a s h

Sept. 19, 2012

story.katieanderson

Regional Conference roundup

It’s that time of the yearagain, the time when the finalspark of the Northern Lightsand National SADD conferenceswear off and kids need theirSADD fix again. It’s the regionalconference time of year. Thisyear the NLAB and the regionalboard members worked veryhard to make sure the regionalconferences were a hit.

If you don’t know whata Regional Conference is, it ispretty much a two and a halfday Northern LightsConference packed into oneday.

“It was pretty much alittle state conference,"Hillsboro High School StudentRachel Murphy, who attended aSE Junior High conference twoyears ago, said. "It was lots offun. Speakers, workshops andgroup stuff.”

This year the NLAB andregional boards are hoping tomake a big impact with theirconferences. The Southeastregion is planning on havingtheir regional conference Nov.30 in Fargo. They intend a day

Members of the 2011-2012 NLAB came together for a regional middle school conferencein New Rockford. The conference was award show themed, and workshop presentersdressed in formal attire for the occasion.

full of working on how they canserve their community. Thetheme is "Southeast RegionalConference: Serving The World".There will be keynoters, student-­‐led workshops and groupactivities. The idea is to make itmuch like a Northern LightsConference except in one shortday.

The Northeast region isplanning on having their themeof the conference be "NortheastRegional Conference: The Sea of

Change".Also this year, the NLAB

wanted to make the regionalboards to be more involved andmore known. Therefore theregional board members will beinvolved in the planning. Theywill also help at the conference byleading workshops oricebreakers.

The boards hope to makeground with the conference andto help the kids stay motivatedthe whole school year long.

Lisbon leads in informingstory.staffreport

Lisbon SADD, started in2005, has been busy so far this year.

The year kicked off with aS’more Fun with SADDmeeting forboth the junior and senior highgroups. Hot dogs and s’moreswere roasted over the campfire ascontracts were updates andelection of officers were held.

Alexis Swonger was electedas president for the junior highand Cassie Witte was elected aspresident for the senior highgroup.

After elections, Lisbon gotbusy with Red Ribbon week withthe theme for the year as “TheBest Me Is Drug Free”. Due totesting that is occurring in theschool during that time, Lisbon iscelebrating Red Ribbon WeekOct.15 – 17. SADD membersgathered at the fence just north ofthe Lisbon school Oct. 14 to weavea message (the national theme)into the fence for all to see.Additionally, SADD members tiedred ribbons up and down mainstreet to increase awareness forRed Ribbon week. Lisbonbusinesses were also invited tohelp increase communityawareness about Red Ribbonweek by decorating their storewindows.

Lisbon SADDmembersdeclared special days at school incelebration of Red Ribbon week:Monday was SADD awareness day– SADDmembers wereencouraged to wear their SADDshirts and passed out “Open yourEyes” buttons to educate othersabout SADD programming and

fun! High school SADD memberswore black to signify those liveslots to drugs and alcohol relateddeaths. Additionally, high schoolSADD members placed outlines ofbodies on the floors of the schoolwith statistics of drug relatedfatalities. Tuesday was declared“Wear RED for SADD” day. Allstudents grades k-­‐12 wereencouraged to wear red inobservance of Red Ribbon week.Participating students thengathered at the fence and took agroup picture together.Wednesday was “Put a CAP onDrugs” day. For a $1 donation,students could wear a cap toschool. All moneyraised will bedonation to thelocal food pantry.

Wednesday,as students left on abreak from schoolfor the NDEAconvention, SADDstudents handed out red ribbonsfor students to take home and tiearound a tree, pole or mailbox inrecognition of Red Ribbon weekuntil Oct. 31.It is their hope to literally “paintthe town red” in observance ofRed Ribbon week in Lisbon. TheirRed Ribbon week activities andphotos will be submitted in acontest with hopes of winning anIPAD for their school

Lisbon SADD also had aFree Will rummage/bake sale Oct.27 at United Methodist Church inLisbon. All proceeds supported thestudents efforts in providing a fun,

safe alternative to makingdestructive decisions right here inLisbon.

Probably one of their moreexciting projects was the hauntedgarage on Halloween. They willhand out candy and allow them tolook through their spookyhallowed creation. They promisednot so scare the “little gobblins”,but to “turn it up a little” for thosespooks that are old enough to“handle it”. Once all of the trick ortreaters were back home for thenight, the SADDmembers stayedand had a Spooktacular timecelebrating Halloween together.

Once these projects werecompleted,the SADDgroups beganplanning forNovemberand Decemberprojects, butthey alreadyknow they

will be having a Belgian Wafflesupper fundraiser on January 17th.Tickets will be pre-­‐sold.

Aside from generalawareness initiatives, there aretwo things the SADD students areworking to inform people about.First they want to make it clearthat SADD is no longer justfocused on driving drunk but onall destructive decisions. They alsowant their peers to know thatregardless of how many activitiesthey are involved in they can stillbe involved in SADD, even if theycan’t attend every single event.

Name: DeVanHelmoskiTown: MintoGrade: SeniorAge: 18

At a glanceStudent takes a stand on issue

Sports: cross country (namedGrafton's MVP), basketball, track,baseball, football, golf

Favorite animal: koala bear

Favorite candy: Reese's PeanutButtercup

Fun fact: Helmoski is an avidhiphop dancer.

The past sixmonths have been filledwith campaigns, politicalads and talk of elections.For one Northern Lightsstudent the periodbefore Election Daywasnot just a passiveprocess.

Minto HighSchool senior DeVanHelmoski got activewhen he heard aboutN.D. Ballot MeasureFour, which bannedsmoking in all publicworkplaces includingbars, taxis andmotelrooms. Nov. 6 themeasure passedwith 66percent of the vote,adding North Dakota toa list of 29 other statesthat have passed such aban.

“I startedpromotingMeasureFour Oct. 30 by tellingall my teachers,relatives and neighborsabout what MeasureFour was all about andwhat it could do forpeople's health,”Helmoski said. “Somepeople don’t know howmuchwill effect theirlives.”

For Helmoski, histhree year involvement

inMinto’s SADD chapterand other lifeexperiences played acritical role in hisdecision to dosomething about theissue.

“I promoted thismeasure because of mymom,” Helmoski said.“She had smoked sinceshewas about 15 yearsold from one peerpressuring her to try it.She did andwasaddicted for the next 24years until my sister gotAsthma from thesecondhand smoke.

"Mymomhasnow been smoke-­‐freefor three years.”

Helmoski printedoutmore than 80pamphlets to hand out,and succeeded indistributing them all asheworked to informpeople about thebenefits of themeasure.

“People werequite astonished that Iwas actuallycampaigning for ameasure to get passed,”Helmoski said. “When itgot passed I feltrelieved.”

Violators of theMeasure can be fined$50.

story.staffreport

One North Dakota Girl has found herself on anational stage.

UND freshman Carrie Sandstrom wasselected as the 2012-­‐2013 National SADD Student ofthe Year, a position she has filled since the 2012National conference in June.

“I’ve just always had a passion for SADD,”Sandstrom said. “Running for National SOY justseemed like another way I could stay involved andgive back.”

Sandstrom was born and raised in Bismarck,N.D., where she got involved with her middle schoolchapter in seventh grade. She’s been in SADD eversince. In her freshman year she ran for the NorthernLights Advisory Board, running unopposed andsecuring a spot representing the southwest region.

“I was so nervous about running that firsttime,” Sandstrom said. “I thought I was too young toactually win. Plus, I had never been to a NL SADDconference before — I had no idea what to expect. Itwas terrifying.”

Despite a terrifying initial experience as acandidate, Sandstrom said she never regretted thatnerve-­‐racking conference. The next year she ran forthe NLAB again, and the following year she ran forNL Student of the Year.

“Ever since my first middle school conferenceI had looked up to the Student of the Year,”Sandstrom said. “All I could think was ‘man I hopethat’s me some day.’”

In the winter of her senior year, while shewas still serving as the NL SOY, Sandstrommade thedecision to apply for the National SOY, who serves asthe chair of the National Student Leadership Counciland sits on the National SADD Executive Board.

“I was a little nervous about applying,”Sandstrom said. “I didn’t know what my plans forcollege were at that time— I really thought I wouldleave the country for school — and I didn’t know if Iwould be able to balance my freshman year ofcollege with the workload of the National SOY. Ialmost didn’t apply.”

Now that she’s been both a college freshmanand the National SOY for a few months Sandstromsaid her perspective has changed.

“It’s kind of funny,” Sandstrom said. “I was so

Meet Carrie Sandstrom

worried I would be overwhelmed, and all I couldthink was I can’t do everything alone— then Irealized I didn’t have to. Everybody at the nationallevel has been really helpful and the people are allamazing, plus I have had a great support system inthe form of my family, my high school chapter andthe folks at the NL office. I really don’t think Icoulddo this without all of them.

“I guess that’s the biggest thing I’ve learnedfrom all of this, and from SADD in general — younever have to do anything alone. You always havepeople to help you find success, as long as you justcommunicate what you need and what you think. Iknow that those are skills that will stick me the restof my life.”

Sandstrom will continue to serve as NationalSOY until the National SADD conference in Orlando,Fl. in the end of June. After that she will serve in anadvisory position for the 2013-­‐2014 SLC. However,even as she considers her time in SADD windingdown, Sandstrom doesn’t seem to think of it as anend.

“I don’t really get too sad when I think aboutfinishing my time as SOY,” Sandstrom said. “ I knowthat I’ll never really be done with SADD— it willalways be something that I care about, and morethan that it will always be the way I live. SADD is alifestyle, and just like it sounds, it’s with you for life.”

story.staffreport

Photo courtesy of SADD.org

Christmas isaround the corner myfriends, and whatbetter way to start offthe Christmas seasonthan spending it withyour SADD chapter!Christmas can get tobe such a hectic timewith all the concerts,shopping for presents,and of course eatingdozens of Christmascookies so you maywant to take a littlebreak from the joyousinsanity and gettogether with yourSADD chapter andremind each otherwhat Christmas is allabout.

As SADDstudents we promote ahealthy lifestyle ofbeing substance freeand creating acommunity that is notonly supportive butalso there to look outof each other. Theholiday season can bevery tough for somepeople so why not tryand spread a littleChristmas spiritaround the town andmake everyone feel atease.

One

surprisingly fun wayto spread theChristmas spirit is togo caroling, you do noteven have to be a goodsinger to completelychange someone’s day!The fact that you arethere and smiling andpretending you knowall the words to thesong is good enough.The best places tocarol are nursinghomes and hospitals,because the residentsthere are not able todo a lot during the dayso they will rememberthat great group ofSADD students thatjust brightened theirday. Make sure youtell them what SADD isand not just “We areSADD students.” Getit? Okay, I will stopwith the lame jokesand get back on track.

Another greatholiday idea is to havea SADD Christmasmovie party and playthe classics like HomeAlone and Rudolph theRed Nose Reindeer.Have people bringcookies and hotchocolate, and if youare feeling really fancy

you could hold a giftexchange and havepeople buy smallinexpensive gifts andthrow them into onepile and play a game.Instead of a giftexchange have allmembers bring awinter clothing itemsuch as hats, gloves,and scarves to donateto your local shelter.There are alwayspeople in need ofwarm clothes and youwill feel great aboutgiving back to thecommunity.

This holidayseason I challenge youall to do as much asyou can to give to thecommunity and thosearound you. Younever know what onesmall gesture ofkindness can do fora person. If youfind yourselfgetting caught upin all the holidayshuffle justtake a stepback anddepend onyour SADDfamily tokeep youon track.

I wish you all avery splendidholiday season andI hope to hearabout the plansthat your SADDchapter comesup with!

Bringing in the holidays:Ideas for chapters

story.ellilemm

As I pass the halfway point of my term as Student of theYear, I realize all the things this year’s NLAB and I haveaccomplished and what we have yet to do. We are approachingour regional conference, another NLAB meeting, and of course,the legendary Northern Lights SADD Conference.

Lately we’ve been focused on regional conferences. OurNLABers and Regional Board members have been workingharder than ever to get sponsorships, a facility, speakers, andcontacting schools to attend. I couldn’t be more proud of all ofour leaders in our tri-­‐state area.

The next big thing we will be focusing on is theNorthern Lights Conference— open to chapters in NorthDakota, South Dakota and Minnesota — again to be hosted inGrand Forks, ND at the Alerus Center. This year, we are hopingto make this conference the biggest it has ever been.

Now that we are a quarter of the way through the2012-­‐2013 school year, what goals has your chapter set, whathave you done, and how are you tying SADD into youreveryday life? As a part of the Northern Lights Advisory Board,we’d love to hear what you are doing.

Thanks for everything you do, you all amazing andimportant SADD members.

2012-2013 NL Studnet of the Year,

Andi Gleason

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You are the heart and soul ofthis organization. What you sayand what you think matters andwe want to hear it! Understandthat you're not alone. Thechoices and decisions you arefaced with face many others,and the series of situations thatmake up your life are notunique to you. So share yourthoughts with us, your storyand your views could make aworld of difference forsomeone else who isexperiencing the same thing.

SADD in action