2001 Winners--Hayden Shoppers
In the 2001 LifeSmarts State Competition on held March 1, The Hayden Shoppers (Colene Burns, Blake Cummings, Beth Gibbs, and Aaron Bowen, captain) from Hayden High School in Blount County, had the determination to succeed and became the LifeSmarts state winners for Alabama. This state competition, held on the campus of Alabama A&M University, helped prepare the Hayden Shoppers for their try at the national competition in San Diego. Being ready question-wise was not the only preparation needed for the trip. Aaron, Blake, Colene and Beth had to raise the money for the trip. Their families contributed and the community also pitched in to help. One local business donated the t-shirts with the slogan, "Some people have Book Smarts, Some people have Street Smarts, But we haveLife Smarts!
Miss Jillion Bishop and Mrs. Ronda Sullins, counselors at the school and sponsors for the team, wholeheartedly supported the efforts of the students. Dr. Bernice B. Wilson, LifeSmarts coordinator and Extension urban specialist in resource management, is pleased with the response throughout the state. "Last year was our first year with LifeSmarts, and interest continues to grow. Hayden High School has proved to be a determined group of students, but we expect competition to increase greatly this year. Several more counties have expressed a desire to field teams and I'm looking forward to the turnout in March of 2002!"
2002 Winners-Blount County Community Team
The United We Stand team (Chris Acker, Jesse Byrd, Beth Gibbs, and Shayne McGuffie; with Jane Gibbs, coach) from Blount County is the Alabama LifeSmarts Champions for 2002. This team has added a new twist to LifeSmarts competition in Alabama; it is a community team with an interested parent as its coach! Plans are underway for the team to attend the National LifeSmarts Competition on April 13th-16th in Arlington, Virginia.