New Blog from Virginians for a Healthy Future Coalition

Please check out http://blog.smokefreevanow.org/ -- it’s a blog from the Virginians for a Healthy Future Coalition and it’s written by Cathleen Grzesiek from the American Heart Association. It contains relevant information about smoke-free issues and news in Virginia, particularly for this General Assembly session.

Take a look at the VTSF Agency Overview Video!

The VTSF agency overview video is up on VTSF.org – it’s on the front page (http://www.vtsf.org/index.asp ).

Thanks again to those North Region Grantees who helped out!

Middle School Focus Group Participants Needed

Could your local middle school use an extra $1000?
YES you read that correctly - a cash incentive for schools!

We are looking for middle school students to participate in our Y marketing campaign research. For this research, there is a short ten-question survey and then follow up focus groups (which can be conducted during lunch). The time commitment is minimal for the school - just give us four homeroom classes of kids and we'll do all the work.

If you know of a school that might be interested, call or email me.

VTSF Promotional DVD stars two North Region grantees!

On November 14th, VTSF shot footage for our first-of-a-kind promotional DVD! The camera crew visited two grantee programs in the North Region: Alexandria Community Services Board (Al's Pals program) and Fairfax County Community and Recreation Services (Project TNT and TND).

Many thanks to Arika VanBrunt (Alexandria CSB) and Janet Young (Fairfax CRS) for being world-class presenters!

I plan to show you all the finished DVD at our site visits this January and February.

RJ Reynolds Plans to Stop Print Advertisements

RJ Reynolds, makers of Camel cigarettes, have announced they plan to "take a year off" from print ads in magazines and newspapers. This may have come about as a result of the negative reaction they have received for their Camel No. 9 marketing strategy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071128/ap_on_he_me/tobacco_ads;_ylt=Aol09w.fLiDe9Ow_macikd2s0NUE

CDC's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs

The Center for Disease Control has just published an updated guide on the "Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs". The guide provides states with a roadmap on how to best address tobacco use. It also suggests funding recommendations for comprehensive tobacco control programs.

Here is a link to the Executive Summary of the Report.

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/tobacco_control_programs/stateandcommunity/best_practices/00_pdfs/2007/best_practices_es.pdf

New "Emerging" Tobacco Product

Be on the lookout for a new tobacco product called Snus. It is a smokeless tobacco pouch product that is put between your cheek and gum. It is different from dip or chew in that it is "spit-free". Both Philip Morris (Marlboro Snus) and RJ Reynolds (Camel Snus) are test marketing their products now. They come with flavorings such as mint, spice and vanilla.

Here is a link to the Marlboro Snus fact sheet
http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/popup_marlboro_snus_fact_sheet.asp

Let me know if you see this in a convenience store near you!

Great Tobacco E-Newsletter

Please see message below and register for this free monthly newsletter, Tobacco Free Press. The newsletter is a synthesis of many sources and often contains valuable information on youth tobacco prevention. The October issue was just released. Here is a link to the October issue http://www.ttac.org/TCN/tfp/2007/october-2007/index.html
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The Tobacco Control Network (TCN) is pleased to present the October 2007 edition of the monthly Tobacco Free Press. We hope this newsletter helps you access and use valuable tobacco-related news efficiently. This publication is sponsored in partnership with the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium (TTAC), the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD), and the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.


We welcome you to pass on this newsletter to any of your colleagues who may be interested. Please encourage them to sign up to receive the newsletter directly by e-mailing tcn@sph.emory.edu.

As always, please let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions on how to make the Tobacco Free Press a useful source of information. Remember to check the Tobacco Control Network website regularly, as we make continuous additions to the materials and resources available.

I am out of the office most of next week.

I will be out of the office next week starting on Tuesday, October 23rd. I will be back in the office on Monday, October 29th. I am excited to be attending the National Conference on Tobacco or Health in Minneapolis, MN. This annual conference brings together tobacco prevention professionals from around the country. (www.tobaccocontrolconference.org).

I am also presenting a poster at the conference entitled, " Comprehensive Evaluation of Process and Outcome Measures in Community Programs". This poster will highlight all the great grantee program implementations that have taken place throughout Virginia.

I will be checking email, but if you have something of an urgent matter, please contact Donna Gassie, Director of Programs at dgassie@vtsf.org or (804) 225-3619.

Have a Great Weekend, North Region!

VTSF North Region Grantees Group Photo!

What a happy-looking group of grantees!

Thanks to all for attending our annual grantee conference. I was happy to catch up with some of you and hear about your programs. I hope you all learned something new at the conference and got a chance to connect with some like-minded folks!

Virginia Department of Health - Tobacco Use Control Project

The link below is to the PowerPoint presentation made by Karen Burruss of the Virginia Department of Health - Tobacco Use Control Project.

She spoke at the Grantee Conference on the second day plenary session and her slides were not available for distribution at that time.

http://www.vtsf.org/grantees/forms/TUCPpresentation.ppt

Thanks!

Send In Your Program Implementation Schedules

Please send me your program implementation schedules as they are set. I hope to get out to see some programs-in-action this fall. Also, Marty Kilgore, our executive director, plans to visit programs around the state with local legislators.

I need program location, address, date/time, age of youth, and approximate number of youth in the program.

Thanks!

New Statewide Evaluation Process!

As many of you are aware, the statewide evaluation process has been modified for the 2007 - 2008 grant year. Students will now only be completing a single survey at the end of the program. This means that students will no longer be required to create a unique identifier as we will not be matching pre and post surveys. The student post surveys are one page long (front and back) and should take no longer than 10 - 15 minutes to complete. Before surveys can be administered parents must be notified about the survey using a parental notification letter.

Additionally, changes have been made to the instructor cover sheet. The cover sheet has been expanded to collect additional information regarding program fidelity. We feel that this additional information will help compare program outcomes across the state.

You should expect to receive periodic updates from VCU regarding the surveys they have received from you. If you do not receive an update directly from VCU at least quarterly, please call or e-mail your SERL contact person to request an updated list.

The timeline for receiving and submitting surveys is as follows:

- Agency contact should have received surveys at least two weeks before the program is scheduled to end (unless the agency has requested an alternative mailing cycle)

- Agency contact will distribute surveys and parental notification letters to instructors

- Instructors return surveys with coversheets as soon as they have been completed (within two weeks of last session)

SERL Contact Info

North Region
Andy Hollins
Phone: 804-827-4223
Fax: 804-827-3793
e-mail: s2aholli@vcu.edu

We are hopeful that this streamlined process will enable us to effectively assess program outcomes across the state as well as track program fidelity across programs. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me!

Terri-ann Brown (tabrown@vtsf.org)
Program Specialist
Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation
Phone: (804) 225-3466

Prevention Comes First Conference Mini-Workshops

Building on the success of the Round Table format from the first Prevention Comes First Conference, the Governor’s Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (GOSAP) is inviting individuals and groups to apply as presenters at the “Round Table - Mini-Workshop” sessions at this year’s Prevention Comes First Conference. The conference is being held on Monday, October 29, 2007 in Richmond.



The intent is for participants to hear how groups in communities across the Commonwealth have chosen and implemented an effective prevention practices & program, as well as the resulting outcomes.* The choice of which prevention program and/or practice to present is left to the presenter(s) and is not limited to the theme of bullying; hence, the “and beyond” in the title.



The Round Table – Mini-Workshop format is an effective way for participants to receive a great deal of information about programs and practices in a condensed time period. Presenters will speak with groups of ten (10) or fewer participants at a “round table” for 15, minutes with five (5) minutes for questions before participants move to another table. Presenters repeat their presentation in three consecutive sessions, enabling participants to hear multiple presentations. Presenters are asked to use flip charts or battery-powered laptops (no cords or sound) as visual aids, and to bring handouts for participants to take with them. Set-up time should be kept to ten (10) minutes or less. Round Table – Mini-Workshops will be held from 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.



Proposals should be submitted to:

Dr. Michelle Schmitt at mmschmit@vcu.edu



Selection of presenters will begin on September 15, 2007. Those chosen will be notified by October 1, 2007. Each Round Table Presentation selected will receive complimentary access for one presenter to attend the full Prevention Comes First Conference. For questions please contact Dr. Schmitt at (804) 827-2610.



IF YOU WOULD LIKE A COPY OF THE PROPOSAL APPLICATION, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT lbrown@vtsf.org.

Please join our Email Distribution List

You should have each received an email from Richard Foster from VTSF (rfoster@vtsf.org) asking you to join the North Region Email Distribution List. Here is what it said...


rfoster@vtsf.org has invited you to join the VTSF North Region group with this message:
VTSF North Region grantees: You are being added to a mail-list group on Google.
This will automatically e-mail you update bulletins when Lisa Brown adds new posts on the VTSF North Blog. Here is the group's description:
Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation North Region grantees

Please follow the link in the email and register with the distribution list. Then, you will get an email when I post a new message on the VTSF North Region Blog!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Reminder - First Invoice/Reimbursement Form due August 30th

Hi, all. Just a reminder to send in your July Invoice/Reimbursement Request form. It is due to me, via mail, with an originial signature, by August 30th.

You can download all forms from our website at www.vtsf.org under Current Grant Recipients.

If you did not spend any money in July, please send me an email noting as such.

Thank you!

My address:
VTSF
2465 Centreville Road, #J17-106
Herndon, VA 20171

Register NOW for VTSF Annual Grantee Conference

VTSF’s Sixth Annual Grantee Training Conference registration deadline is quickly approaching! The deadline for submitting your on-line registration is September 14, 2007, that’s less than four weeks away.

To register, click on the following link: http://www.vtsf.org/registration/registration-form.asp?regfrm=57-6tn. You can confirm your registration by clicking on the following link: http://www.vtsf.org/registration/reglist2.asp?regfrm=57-6tn.

To view the conference agenda and descriptions of the conference workshops, click on the following link: Brochure for 6th Annual Grantee Conference (PDF)

The deadline to secure your room reservations at the Marriott Newport News at City Center at the discounted rate of $73 a night plus tax is August 25, 2007. Make your reservations now by calling (866) 329-1758 and be sure to mention the conference group code: VTNVTNA.

State Senator Mark Herring Visits Loudoun County Community Services Board Program

Marty Kilgore, Christine Weaver and Sen. Mark Herring with Life Skills Traing program participants

Marty Kilgore, the executive director of the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation (VTSF), and State Senator Mark Herring recently visited a Loudoun county-sponsored after school program that focuses on tobacco-use prevention among elementary and middle school youth. The Life Skills Training program is a service of the Loudoun County Community Services Board (CSB).

The VTSF is a primary funder of the program. The officials spent time observing the program, while also interacting with the children in the after-school programs at the Fields of Leesburg and Evans Ridge apartment complexes.

The CSB’s Prevention and Community Outreach service is closing out the first year of a three-year, $202,000 grant. The VTSF funds the prevention efforts as part of an innovative after-school program, as well as within participating Loudoun County public schools. The Life Skills Training program serves 150 middle school and elementary school-aged youth in sites extending from Middleburg to Sterling.

The Life Skills Training program also helps parents increase their knowledge and understanding of drug use and abuse, as well as to develop the parenting skills necessary to reduce drug use among their children. The CSB’s Prevention and Community Outreach Services will continue with the Life Skills Training program within its summer camps this year, which will serve youth in multiple locations across Loudoun County.

- Excerpted from a press release by Christine Weaver, Loudoun CSB

For assistance in scheduling a program visit from your state representatives, please contact Richard Foster, VTSF public relations coordinator, at rfoster@vtsf.org.

Welcome to the VTSF North Region Blog!

Welcome to the new blog for VTSF North Region Grantees! I will use this blog to post announcements, reminders, news, etc. on VTSF. You can also leave a comment for any of the posts.

I hope to make this the one-stop-shop for North Region grantees!

Please let me know if you have any suggestions for the blog.

Things you'll see in the future on the blog:
- Training opportunities
- Helpful hints
- Photos sent in by YOU!
- Reminders of due dates/deadlines
- News from grantees (please email me any success stories)

I will update the blog weekly (hopefully on Tuesdays) so plan to visit on Tuesday afternoon or any other time during the week!

Thanks!