Recruitment for the 7th Warriors Above the Influence Poster is underway
For more than a decade, Pocahontas County HS students, representing a wide variety of athletic and cultural organizations at the school, have sought to show their fellow students that they can rise above the influence of drugs, alcohol and other substance abuse. 2020 will mark the 7th version of the Warriors Above the Influence poster that is produced every 2 years. Jean Srodes, representing the Pocahontas County Prevention Coalition, spoke about the 2020 poster during a meeting of the Pocahontas County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She said all students are eligible to apply to be on the poster, not just the most popular kids or the best athletes.
“I’ve made some recommendations in the past and sometimes they don’t make the cut because it’s pretty strenuous,” said Srodes. “I’ll give you an idea what they look at – they have to have reference checks from school, community, faith based, employment; social media checks, which is probably new in the past few years – Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat. They have to be above the influence and pass a drug screening tests with their parent’s permission. They have to be selected by a panel that interview them of community members, sponsors and school personnel. So, it’s quite a prestigious award to be on it and the students that qualify also have to do community service.”
Sam Gibson said he would like to see more students representing other groups such as the National Honor Society on the next poster. Outgoing Chamber board member Selina King said she was on the committee interviewing students for the 2018 poster.
“We went to the high school and actually did the interviews with the students,” said King. “And what I learned that I didn’t know before then was that they have to go through this application process. But during that interview they get to choose what they represent on the poster.”
She said the pool of applicants was somewhat smaller in 2018. They are hoping to see an increase in the number of students applying this year. Another board member said they would like to see vocational students apply as well to represent those who chose not to pursue higher education after graduation. All Pocahontas County HS students are encouraged to apply to be on the 2020 poster.
The poster is also made possible through the sponsorship of individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and local governmental bodies. Each sponsor is included on the final poster along with the pictures of the students. The sponsorship cost for the poster is $250.00. Here is how you can be a sponsor for the 2020 Warriors Above the Influence poster.
Please contact Cheryl Jonese at pocahontasprevention@gmail.com to let her know that you would like to be a sponsor. The preferred deadline is January 31st, 2020. She will need the name of the sponsor/organization and the contact person’s name, address, email and phone number. If an organization, you will need to provide the logo you wish to appear on the poster. You can mail your check to Cheryl Jonese, Pocahontas County Prevention Coalition, PO Box 278, Marlinton WV 24954.
Sponsors will be invited to take part in the official presentation of the 2020 poster this fall and will receive a signed, framed copy of the poster.
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