Consumer Savvy Teens Win State LifeSmarts Championship
       
       Normal, AL – The Ultimate Survivors from Austin High School in Decatur captured the Alabama 
LifeSmarts championship by successfully fielding questions about real-life marketplace issues.
        LifeSmarts, a program of the National Consumers League, is a consumer education competition 
that tests teens in grades 9-12 about personal finance, health and safety, the environment, technology, 
and consumer rights and responsibilities.
       Teens from across the state first competed online for a chance to go to the in-person state finals 
held September 2002 through January 2003.
        Austin High School’s Ultimate Survivors consisting of Christopher Bumbarger, Heather Dobbs, 
Andrew Holaway, Lisa Powell-Walsh and Nikki Stone did such an outstanding job in the on-line 
competition that they automatically qualified to represent Alabama in the national finals to be held April 
26-29 at Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The students will participate in a practice competition on the Alabama 
A&M campus March 5 along with other students from Austin High School and Dallas County High School. 
       “LifeSmarts participants in Alabama have gained many of the consumer “smarts” they’ll need to 
make it in the real world,” said LifeSmarts State Coordinator Dr. Bernice Wilson. “We’re proud to have the 
Ultimate Survivors represent us at the national competition.”
       Other Alabama teams participating in the online state finals included Dallas County High School 
in Selma, Headland High School and Fairhope High School. 
       “There are no losers in the LifeSmarts competition,” said Linda Golodner, president of the 
National Consumers League. “All participants win by learning to avoid common consumer pitfalls, 
navigate the government and understand credit card jargon before they have to sign on the dotted line.”
   LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on 
a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.lifesmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or 
call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.
	The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. 
NCL’s mission is to identify, protect, represent, and advance the economic and social interests of 
consumers and workers. NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization. For more information 
about NCL, visit www.nclnet.org, or email media@nclnet.org 

       
Source: Dr. Bernice Wilson, Extension Resource Management Specialist, Alabama Cooperative 
Extension System (256) 372-4969