FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Deborah Burke Henderson, SADD, (508) 481-3568

SADD Announces 2004 Student of the Year
Students Against Destructive Decisions Chooses Jacqueline Hackett of Harleysville, Pennsylvania to Represent Organization Nationally

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., May 25, 2004 – SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), a national school based peer-to-peer education and prevention organization, today announced that Jacqueline Hackett of Harleysville, Pennsylvania, has been named its National Student of the Year for the 2004-2005 school year. Jacqueline will be the national student spokesperson for the organization, which has more than 10,000 chapters and millions of members in schools nationwide, taking on issues of teenage drinking and other drug use, as well as being an active participant in the national debate over prevention policies aimed at teens. Her responsibilities also include serving a one-year term on SADD’s national board of directors.

"Jacqueline has always stood out amongst our outstanding group of student leaders, continuously demonstrating an ability to lead and to energize those around her and to be a powerful voice for youth in her community and around the country," said Penny Wells, President and Executive Director of SADD. "From testifying before the
United States Congress, being chosen Student of the Year in Pennsylvania, and leading programs in her own community, Jacqueline is the model for what we see is the very best in student leadership."

Jacqueline has been a member of SADD since 1998, and is currently Pennsylvania’s SADD Student of the Year, a member of SADD’s National Student Leadership Council and Executive Committee, and since 2001 the leader of Pennsylvanians Against Underage Drinking Youth Committee. In February, Jacqueline testified on behalf of SADD before the Congressional Subcommittee on Education Reform at a hearing on "Preventing Underage Drinking: What Works?"

She is currently a senior at Souderton Area High School in Souderton, Pennsylvania, where she is co-coordinator of her SADD chapter in addition to being a member of the National Honor Society, editor-in-chief of her school newspaper, and a participant in student government as class vice president in both her sophomore and junior years. Jacqueline is also a D.A.R.E. role model and a member of the "Just Say No" traveling show. Through these initiatives and the Character Counts! program, a partnership between her SADD chapter and the local YMCA, Jacqueline has also helped elementary school age youth understand the importance of responsibility and citizenship. She plans to attend George Washington University in the fall.

"Jacqueline has been an exceptional spokesperson for SADD in Pennsylvania, working tirelessly to ensure that teens here are fully aware of the perils of underage drinking and other drug use," said Liane Petras, Pennsylvania SADD State Coordinator.
"Being chosen SADD Student of the Year is a great honor and for her a natural
progression, and we are sure she will thrive as a leader, an educator, and as an important voice and advocate for teens nationwide."

Jacqueline will begin her term as the National Student of the Year during SADD’s annual conference in July in St. Louis, Missouri.

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SADD is a national student-based organization with chapters in thousands of middle schools, high schools, and colleges across the country. Its mission is to provide students with prevention and intervention tools to effectively address such issues as underage drinking, drug use, impaired driving, teen violence, and suicide. More information on SADD can be found at www.sadd.org.

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