first annual prom contest is a hit

In September 2006, students from more than 1,000 Ohio public and private high schools were challenged to "paint their schools orange," the official color of stand and DEBUNKIFY, for the chance to win an all-expenses-paid prom.

By December, 28 high schools accepted the Prom Raiders challenge and got to work plastering their school grounds and students in orange, bringing to life the reality that the majority of youth in Ohio do not use tobacco. Ohio students did more than just decorate with orange; they also took the opportunity to stand up and speak out against tobacco.

When it was all said and done, participating schools held 138 Prom Raiders events and reached approximately 25,000 high school students. They did it all, from covering every inch of their schools in orange, to holding pep rallies, to distributing tobacco facts, to making T-shirts with slogans like "Orange you glad you don't smoke" and "Anthony Wayne High School Takes a Stand." Students even went as far as dying both their hair and the water in the school bathroom toilets orange.

There could only be one winner though, and Lexington High School came out on top. The good news was delivered to the school on January 31, 2007, during a surprise announcement. The students were floored and needless to say, ecstatic about their upcoming dream prom, for which they planned all the details.

On May 12, 2007, students pulled up to their prom in limos and horse-drawn carriages to find a room transformed to fit their starry night theme and complete with decorative tunnels, a cityscape for pictures, chocolate fountains, search lights and more. Students chose to give props to stand at their prom by building a "stand wall" to display their Prom Raiders entry, important facts about tobacco and to thank stand and the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation for sponsoring their dream prom. shout out to all the participating schools:

Anthony Wayne
Athens High School
Beaumont School
Bellevue High School
Caldwell High School
Cloverleaf High School
Delaware Hayes High
Firestone High School
Greenville Senior High
Grove City High School
Indian Valley High School
John F. Kennedy High
Lexington High School
Logan High School
Lorain Admiral King
Meigs High School
Midpark High School
Monroe Central
New Lexington High School
Notre Dame Academy
Plymouth High School
R.G. Drage Vocational
Ridgemont Local High
Roger Bacon High School
Teays Valley High School
Virtual Schoolhouse
West Branch High School
Western High School