Career Center/West Forsyth High School Student, Josh Smith, wins Design Contest

Safe Sober Prom Night, a Winston-Salem, N.C. based non-profit, presented by Daggett Shuler, Attorneys at Law, is pleased to announce Josh Smith, a senior at Career Center and West Forsyth High Schools, is the 2016 winner of their annual t-shirt design contest!

Josh and his teacher, Ms. Stephanie Messer, were surprised this morning in the Commercial Arts 1 class at the Career Center by local dignitaries as well as David Daggett and Griff Shuler of Daggett Shuler, Attorneys at Law.  In attendance was Winston-Salem Police Chief Barry Rountree, Captain Darrell Courts of the Greensboro Fire Department, Mrs. Pam Peoples-Joyner of the Winston-Salem Police Department, Superior Court Judge David Hall, Mrs. Carol Montague-Davis, the Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education for the Winston-Salem Forsyth County School System, both of Josh’s principals, Dr. Chris Nichols of Career Center and Mr. Charles McAninach of West Forsyth High School, as well as Josh’s parents.

Safe Sober Prom Night is a non-profit organization co-founded in 1991 by attorney David Daggett of Daggett Shuler, Attorneys at Law. “The goal of Safe Sober Prom Night is to provide ongoing awareness of the dangers of drugs and alcohol and to encourage positive peer pressure to reduce underage drinking and drug use,” explains Griff Shuler. The program is currently active in 47 high schools across nine counties across the Triad region of North Carolina.

Now in its 26^th year, Safe Sober Prom Night encourages high school students to be safe with a written pledge to stay drug and alcohol free on prom night. Each student who signs a pledge card receives a t-shirt bearing the winning design. Students are given incentives to keep their commitment, including scholarships and a chance to win $1,000 for their school. To date, more than 500,000 students have signed the Safe Sober “Do it Right!” pledge. 

As part of the Safe Sober Prom Night program, Triad students submit their own designs for consideration to be printed on 15,000 t-shirts distributed to area high school juniors and seniors who sign the pledge to remain drug and alcohol free on prom night. Josh Smith is the sole winner of the competition. He received a $500 scholarship and has his name printed on the back of each t-shirt. Many schools incorporate these t-shirts into their spirit week leading up to prom, creating an atmosphere of positive peer pressure encouraging their students to make safe decisions on Prom night.

“Josh’s design does an excellent job of catching the eye, and promoting positive peer pressure,” says David Daggett. “We are so proud of Josh and of all the students who participate in the Safe Sober Prom Night program and we are looking forward to getting these t-shirts out into the community for everyone to see!”