Students from the Adrian High School journalism class took on the challenge of creating a public service announcement that would catch people’s attention and remind drivers of the dangers of distracted driving. Their work caught the attention of the KARE 11 television’s EyesUp Challenge organizers and people who voted online for the top three entries.
The AHS 15-second PSA features the students riding in a car, laughing, taking selfies and talking about the driver’s birthday. When the driver takes her eyes from the road and picks up her phone to see the balloons on the phone screen with happy birthday wishes, the car fills with balloons and the students scream. The final images are students gathered at a cemetery, releasing memorial balloons in the sky and the text reads: “Wishing you many more happy birthdays. #EyesUp while driving.”
The students spent several days during journalism class using a video camera to shoot the various sequences in hopes of creating a poignant reminder of the dangers of distracted driving. The students work will be shown throughout the year as PSAs on KARE-TV. The top three schools received a cash prize of $1,100 to be used to help promote distraction-free driving in their schools and communities. AHS will use the money to help fund a mock-accident program in the fall as well as paying for items to hand out to the community reminding them to keep eyes on the road when driving.
The Adrian PSA was selected as one of the top 11 videos from some 30 entries. The public voted for the top three entries. The Adrian students sent out clever reminders over social media throughout the week-long voting period, reminding people to vote for the AHS video. Their work paid off. AHS came close to winning the most votes, finishing just behind a Burnsville High School entry with 2,267 votes. AHS had 2,188 votes and Northwest Passage High School had 1,138 votes.
“The students in this class worked hard to perfect this message in the video. They also were creative in getting out the vote from people throughout the area,’’ said Joyce McCarthy, the students’ instructor. “The students also impressed KARE and Federated Insurance officials in their interview on the morning news show. I could not be prouder of these students.”
Six of the students from the class traveled to the Twin Cities last Friday morning, May 11 to be recognized on the KARE 11 Sunrise show. During the show, Federated Insurance officials awarded the students with a prize check of $1,100.
“ This one gave us all chills when we watched it,” Alicia Lewis, one of the KARE 11 Sunrise anchors who spearheads the station’s EyesUp campaign, told the group on the television live shot. “Hands down, it was one of our favorites when we watched it as a newsroom.”
Seniors Hannah Bullerman, Payton Echter, Paige Tweet, Rylie Hokeness, Taylor Loosbrock and Lexi Slater made the trip for the featured segment on KARE that aired between 6 and 7 a.m.. Cole Weidert and Courtney Penning were also part of the class but unable to attend the ceremony.
Ironically, on May 1 when the winners were announced on KARE 1, the local cable company and Sioux Falls NBC affiliate KDLT removed KARE from local television selections. Viewers were still able to watch the students and the news show on the internet.
The Adrian PSA as well as the other school entries can be viewed at
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/outreach/eyes-up/eyesup-psa-winners-announced/89-551173085
Left to right: Jeff Fetters, Federated Insurance, Hannah Bullerman, Rylie Hokeness, Payton Echter, Lexi Slater, Paige Tweet, Taylor Loosbrock and KARE 11 anchor Alicia Lewis.
Members of the Adrian High School journalism class spent an hour on set with the KARE 11 Sunrise news show. KARE anchor Alicia Lewis introduces one of the EyesUp Challenge segments as the AHS group waits for their turn to be interviewed.
