After a whirlwind of a trip, Jilian Reece and Kelli Humphreys were quick to crack a smile when asked about their group of students wanting to make a change in the community.

Carter County Health Department and Carter County Drug Prevention were able to take 25 students to the recent TNSTRONG convention held in Chattanooga as a way to work with their peers from all across the state to help combat tobacco usage and substance abuse issues.

Reece, CCDP director, and Humphreys, health educator with CCHD, were in downtown Elizabethton Friday working on promotional material for upcoming projects involving TNSTRONG, and mentioned the recent conference proved to be vital for the 20-plus students that were involved.

“The sessions this year were really valuable, especially to our kids that are coming back for the third time,” Reece said. “They were able to learn things like talking to legislators about tobacco and how to reach out to elected officials. I was grateful for education from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. It has allowed me to come back and learn a different way to work with the students and how to keep the fire going that they have for the community.”

“While there’s time for fun away from the convention, students were able to be actively engaged in talks to help better the community,” Humphreys said.

“They had an aquarium event, but also learned how tobacco affects the environment,” she added. “They also had a chance to meet with other TNSTRONG groups in planning sessions to develop more ideas to use in their communities.”

TNSTRONG — Tennessee Stop Tobacco and Revolutionize Our New Generation — is a program offered by the state that allows middle school and high school students to join together in the community to develop plans and projects to encourage their peers to steer from unhealthy products.

Abigail Green was one of the students that made it down with the Carter County contingent. For her first ever conference, Green said it was enjoyable and vital for the work offered by the TNSTRONG group.

“It was really fun,” Green said. “But at the same time, it was really helpful. It really gave me some ideas I can use to help people stop smoking.”

Green added one of the bits of information she learned from the trip was how companies target different cultures and religions for the marketing campaigns for products.

Jackson Humphreys was another student that made the trip for a second consecutive year.

“We had a lot more time for this conference (compared to last year). It was really informative,” he said, adding the Carter County group will look at using social media more to promote the message to their peers.

Opportunities to join the group are also available, Reece added. To learn more about the group, or to join, visit the Carter County Drug Prevention Coalition Facebook page.