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Mooresville High School Students Win National Contest for Communication Program that Spreads Message Against Risky Driving Habits

INDIANAPOLIS, March 21 -- Mooresville High School in Mooresville, Ind., is the winner of a $10,000 grant from State Farm(R) for its "Project Ignition" communication program the students developed to communicate the dangers of risky driving to their classmates and the community.

Mooresville's project, called "In a Flash," reminds students to make safe driving choices, including wearing seatbelts, not using cell phones while driving, not speeding and following traffic signs.

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Across the United States, 5,691 teenagers died in motor vehicle crashes in 2003, an average of nearly 16 teenagers killed per day, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The tragic loss of two Mooresville High School seniors in 2003-2004 in separate car crashes contributed to the increasing commitment and impact of the program.

The award was announced Friday night, March 18th at the National Youth Leadership Council's National Service Learning Conference in Long Beach, Calif.

"The students at Mooresville High School showed impressive creativity in delivering powerful messages about the importance of safe driving. One can only imagine the impact these young adults have had on the lives of their friends, family and community," said Leif Roll, Vice President of Product & Customer Marketing. "As the nation's largest insurer of automobiles, State Farm feels compelled to take a leadership position on the issue of teen driver safety through grant support of Project Ignition. Our agents live in the communities they insure, so we feel strongly about this issue, which over and over again has such a devastating affect on families, schools and communities."

Mooresville's winning program incorporated student produced videos that aired during school announcements and school events, public service announcements, posters, as well as creative programs like the "Don't Punch the Numbers" anti-cell phone campaign, which included a boxing match between two teachers wearing oversized inflatable gloves.

Mooresville High School's winning program was selected from student teams from 25 American schools around the United States, which each received $2,000 from State Farm to develop Project Ignition ( http://www.sfprojectignition.com/ ) programs that address issues such as seat belt use, speeding, impaired driving and distracted driving.

"The students at Mooresville High School have shown that young adults can have a tremendous impact on their peers and the community," said Dr. James Kielsmeier, President of NYLC. "The commitment, dedication, creativeness and ingenuity displayed truly demonstrates the initiative and awareness these students have of the issues that face them. NYLC is very proud to have Mooresville High School as the inaugural winner of Project Ignition."

The Project Ignition program is now accepting applications for the 2005-06 school year. Applications for the program must be submitted on-line and are due April 1, 2005. Visit the Project Ignition website ( http://www.sfprojectignition.com/ ) for more information and to register for the program.

About State Farm

State Farm(R) insures more cars than any other insurer in North America and is the leading U.S. home insurer. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 76,000 employees serve nearly 73 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 18 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com(R) or in Canada statefarm.ca.

About National Youth Leadership Council

NYLC has been at the center of service-learning program and policy development since 1983. It convenes the annual National Service-Learning Conference, offers adult and youth trainings, and develops service-learning resources. Service learning is a teaching method that enriches learning by engaging students in meaningful service to their schools and communities. It integrates service with established learning objectives, emphasizes critical thinking and problem solving, and tackles real issues such as hunger, ecological concerns, safety and diversity. For more information, please visit http://www.nylc.org/ .