And first place belongs to…. Bullitt East.

Student leaders in action and mentoring (SLAM) was given a challenge a few weeks ago by Erie Insurance to have the most students in our school pledge to be safe drivers.

Bullitt East went up against many schools around the country. Prizes were awarded for first, second and third place in the nation. SLAM had one student go above and beyond in the competition.

SLAM was in charge of pushing the information out to the student body and getting people to pledge to be safe drivers. Every time a student would pledge they would be able to complete other challenges like take a survey, watch a video or make a safe driving video, each time they would receive points. The student that received the most points in the nation would receive $1,500. Second place would get $500 and third would receive a $100 gift card.

North Bullitt was in the competition too. It was a close battle at the end, but East was able to pull out the victory over the Eagles. East also won first in the state and SLAM received $100 from the insurance company as a reward for the accomplishment. East came in fourth place in the nation and North finished right behind in fifth place. The winning school was John S Battle High School in Bristol, Virginia.

Junior Charisma Cornell had the most points in the school and tied for thirteen in the country. “I tweeted out a lot of the links and I also asked my friends to sign up. I will do it next year and it’s a good thing to do for the community because texting and driving and distracted driving is a bad thing and it needs get more awareness,” said Cornell. Because she was thirteen in the nation she received a $1,000 amazon gift card. Cornell also was given the chance to start an internship with the insurance company in Mt. Washington.

SLAM was able to compete with other schools in the country and also raise awareness for safe driving and the dangers of drunk driving and texting and driving. Some SLAM students also had the chance to make a video about distracted driving and submitted it in the contest.

Junior and SLAM member Zach Elam liked the shift program and participated in the challenges. “It was a very good program. It provides a good message and gets people to notice the problem. The message it sends and how it affects a lot of people,” said Elam.

Overall, the SLAM program had a strong showing in the competition and worked hard to raise awareness for the cause. SLAM plans to participate fully in the program next year. For more information go to https://www.jointheshift.org/.