STUDENTS SIGN UP TO SAY NO TO DRUGS

SIKESTON -- To people in Sikeston, it is important that their children understand and utilize one phrase.

Just say no.

That's why the Sikeston Elks Lodge #2319 is teaming up with other businesses in the community to get the word out through their Just Say No Club.

"The Elks lodge is very involved in our school," said Sikeston Middle School counselor Julia Reynolds. "We have a lot of community support for our drug education programs, and the Just Say No club has really good student participation."

Great is probably a better word to describe student participation. Since May, the Elks have signed up 2,004 students from the first through ninth grades.

Students who join the club are issued membership cards which make them eligible for prizes during club activities. In return, the members attend motivational assemblies and seminars put on by local and national celebrities that promote drug-free lifestyles.

They also participate in motivational activities like Red Ribbon Week, a national event promoting drug awareness that occurs during late October.

Gary Howard, a lodge member and co-founder of the club, said he and lodge brother Leroy Parmenter decided to create the club after participating in Red Ribbon Week two years ago. "We decided to do something all year long instead of just one week," Howard said.

Howard said since the club's creation last May, the lodge has travelled 1,540 miles, worked 445 hours, and distributed over 20,540 pieces of literature to promote drug awareness.

Reynolds said the Just Say No Club is successful in the schools because it constantly promotes its existence.

"They do something with each school every month," she said. "As far as our drug education activities, we're going strong because we have a lot of community support."

Howard said school and community support allows the club to reinforce its message. "Leaders of the community come out and help or donate things to us," he said. "Mercantile Bank has 65 employees, and they volunteer their time at our events, and all of the banks in town have donated savings bonds for us to give out in schools. So far, we have given out $3,700 worth of prizes."

Howard said support from the school district also plays a large part in the club's success. "Jeannie Williams, the school board president, goes to the programs quite a lot and promotes them," he said. "(The school board says) it's one of the best things that has ever happened in a local club."

Howard said next week the club will sponsor a week-long canned food drive to aid the Sikeston Christmas campaign. The school that collects the most food in pounds, he said, will be awarded the Just Say No travelling trophy. Competition for the trophy will be steep, he said.

"The trophy travels from one school to the next depending on which school wins during our activities," Howard said. "It's another way to keep the students involved in our programs."