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State Farm agent Deron Powell
introduced Miss Illinois, Whitney Thorpe-Klinsky, to the students at
Mount Pulaski High School
on Monday. State Farm Insurance has teamed with the Miss Illinois
Scholarship Association, the sponsoring organization for the Miss
Illinois Pageant, to promote safe driving and to educate teens on
safe driving habits.
As Miss Illinois, Thorpe-Klinsky
has traveled over 40,000 miles across the state since the beginning
of her reign in June 2010. She speaks to schools and organizations
about distracted driving, but she also has a personal service platform,
"Breast Cancer: Prevent, Promote, Provide." She lost her great-grandmother and an aunt to the disease.
Pictures by Marla Blair |
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Mount Pulaski High School Principal Terry Morgan
was presented with a copy of a resolution passed by the Illinois
House of Representatives, acknowledging the school for its efforts
to educate the students on the dangers of distracted driving.
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A volunteer student was asked to weave around
a group of chairs while texting his mother about the Miss Illinois
presentation. The point was to show students how impossible it is to
pay attention to two or more tasks simultaneously. By the end of a
two- to three-minute period of time, he had moved in and around the chairs
but had not completed his message to his mother. |
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Students who fit descriptions of Miss
Illinois' friends were asked to sit in the same seating arrangement
in a simulated car situation, to give a real face to the accident
victims. Miss Illinois described the crash scene, the lost futures
and the funerals to remind students of the reality of distracted
driving. |
Students and some faculty members waited
patiently to receive an autographed postcard from Miss Illinois.
She carries thousands of cards on the road to share with audience
members. At 23 years old, she was like a big sister speaking to the
students, receiving a positive response from the audience and from
individuals after the presentation. |
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