Consider it another notch in the belt for the youth of Carter County.

Elizabethton native Reece Townsend learned late last week that he will be among eight other teenagers from across the state that will serve as a TNSTRONG Teen Ambassador.

TNSTRONG (Tennessee Stop Tobacco and Revolutionize Our New Generation) is a statewide movement led by Tennessee youth that raise aware for the dangers of tobacco to their peers.

Over the course of three years, youth involved with Carter County Drug Prevention Coalition have journeyed throughout the region to organize various events to help encourage their peers and other residents to steer clear from tobacco products and substance abuse.

And during that stretch, Townsend has been on the frontlines with coalition members working on different projects. Townsend is now the second teen ambassador to represent Carter County. Pate Anglin was the first to be named from the area in 2016.

“I was so excited,” said Townsend as he described the day he learned about the designation. “I was proud to be chosen to represent Carter County.”

While his mission will remain the same, Townsend’s duties will grow in his new role as state ambassador. To be considered for a role, a student must be a rising 9th-12th grader and have a minimum GPA of 2.5 and maintain the average throughout their term.

“Being a TNSTRONG ambassador means that I will help lead teens and kids to not ever use tobacco,” he explained. “I will lead and organize events in Carter County to teach about the dangers of tobacco. Teen ambassadors also video chat monthly to share our ideas to eliminate tobacco.”

Townsend was also quick to sing the praise of his other CCDP members and the work they’ve been able to provide within the area.

“The youth board, under the director of Jilian Reece, is very active. You will find us at kid friendly events all over Carter County. We are a strong group and sometimes have more volunteers than we can fit under our tent.”

Now with the designation finalized, Townsend added the board will be staying busy in the coming months with a busy agenda. One of the ideas is a forum from kindergarten to sixth-grade students much like the TNSTRONG Conference the youth board attended recently.

“Our biggest event is coming up in September,” he said. “It is for kids between kindergarten and sixth-grade ages. It is free of charge and will feature a magic show, and exotic bird show, Ryan Witten, a beauty queen, Chick-fil-A and much more. There will be free lunch and awesome prizes. During this conference I will be teaching kids about the dangers in tobacco. Along with others, presenters will teach about bullying, alcohol abuse and more. There will be more details on this coming soon.”

Youth board members have also been busy at local events with the “Blow Bubble, Not Smoke” campaign.

“We can’t wait for football to start to hopefully get into some football games to teach kids that ‘starters never start’,” Townsend said. “We have so much planned for the upcoming year.”