FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              CONTACT: John Donnelly
July 15, 2009                                                                                                     (202) 225-2276

Tar Wars Champ Meets With Burton
5th Grader From Greenfield Placed 1st in Indiana, 4th Nation-wide

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This week, Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) met with McKenzie Freeman, 11, a 5th Grader from Weston Elementary School in Greenfield, Indiana. Freeman came to Washington, D.C. after she took 1st place in both Hancock County and Indiana for the 2009 Tar Wars poster competition. Freeman placed 4th overall in the United States.

Tar Wars is a tobacco-free education program sponsored by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Fourth and fifth graders from across the country who attend the Tar Wars seminar at their school are eligible to compete in the annual poster contest. Winning posters are chosen by school, county, state, and finally the national level by teams of judges who use a list of criteria, the most important being a clear and positive message about being tobacco-free.

About Tar Wars and Freeman's accomplishment, Rep. Burton said, "Both my mother and step-father died of lung cancer, so it's really encouraging to see young kids like McKenzie getting educated about tobacco and participating in the tobacco-free message."

In Freeman's written statement about her poster, she said it illustrates, "children and adults from around the world joining and standing together against tobacco use."

ATTACHMENTS:

Photo of Rep. Burton with McKenzie Freeman

Scan of McKenzie Freeman's Tar Wars Poster

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