IN.gov - Skip Navigation

Note: This message is displayed if (1) your browser is not standards-compliant or (2) you have you disabled CSS. Read our Policies for more information.


Subscribe for e-mail updates
Print This Page Rate This Page Suggest a Link E-mail This Page HELP Find a Person Find an Agency

6 area student/athletes join fight against tobacco

By Amy Bartner amy.bartner@indystar.com

Lindsey Hartman knows younger children look up to her.

Why wouldn't they? The Greenwood High School senior is a star athlete and student.

"A lot of us athletes are role models," said Hartman, who wants to set the right example by vowing publicly that she won't smoke.

Hartman and five other Johnson County high schoolers will appear on posters and trading cards intended to deter students from using tobacco. Photos of the student/athletes in uniform will be under the slogan, "The only thing I light up is the scoreboard," and be distributed to their high schools as part of the Indiana High School Athletic Association's Role Model Program.

The Johnson County students are Hartman, track; Center Grove junior Lindsay Cornett, softball; Whiteland senior Tyler Gieseking, baseball; Franklin senior Eric Lazzell, basketball; Edinburgh senior Hilary Stinson, basketball; and Indian Creek senior Courtney Von Stein, basketball.

The students were chosen as role models based on their academic and athletic performance, as well as their standing in the school community.

"Young kids in our community do see them on that poster and do look up to them," said IHSAA Commissioner Blake Ress at a luncheon for the students Wednesday at Franklin College. "I do think we're making a difference."

The IHSAA worked with the Johnson County REMC and Partnership for a Healthier Johnson County to promote the 2006 campaign for Tobacco Prevention and Cessation.

Eighty-one students statewide represent their schools in the program. Nineteen students -- including Hartman -- also will participate in a program to speak to their communities. After attending a one-day training seminar, Hartman will appear at schools and organizations to discourage smoking.

"It's always tough for high school kids to stand up and say, 'No, I'm not going to do that,' " said Johnson County REMC chief executive officer Chet Aubin. "This Role Model Program is about doing the right thing."