News and Events
The Tobacco Free Partnership of DeSoto County Hosts its Annual Awards Celebration!
April 26, 2023
“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.”
– Steve Jobs
On April 26th, Tobacco Free Partnership Members and Students Working Against Tobacco Youth gathered to recognize their prevention efforts in DeSoto County. In addition to celebrating a year of hard work, a few special members were acknowledged for their outstanding contribution towards a tobacco free future in our community.
Jodie DeLoach – Tobacco Program Manager, and Heather Fugate – Tobacco Free Partnership Board President and 2022-2023 TFP Member of the Year
Heather Fugate was chosen as our 22-23 Tobacco Free Partnership Member of the Year. Heather is employed by Drug Free DeSoto and the DeSoto County Chamber of Commerce. She has been active in our Partnership the past several years but stepped up as our Board President this year. In addition to being a busy mom of two young boys, and her active role serving our community, Heather never once turned down the opportunity to volunteer her time and efforts in the anti-tobacco realm. We have been working tirelessly to implement policy changes in our local community, specifically within our City and County owned parks, due to changes in legislation. Our goal is to make our community as safe as possible on all levels, for all DeSoto County residents, and Heather has truly been an invaluable part of our success. We are extremely appreciative of everything she has done to help get us to this point. She certainly has a heart for our community, and we are proud to have Heather serve as a vital member of our tobacco free partnership.
Jasmine O’Neal - DHS SWAT Youth President and 2022-2023 SWAT Youth of the Year,
and Lindsey Sager – Tobacco Prevention Specialist
Jasmine O’Neal, a sophomore at DeSoto County High School, was recognized as our 22-23 SWAT Youth of the Year. Her leadership and willingness to help has been invaluable. She has put in countless hours of volunteer work and has shown an outstanding dedication towards creating a tobacco-free future. In addition to being the DHS SWAT Club president, Jasmine was also a member of the Drama Club, SADD Club, and Student Union at DHS. She volunteered at various community events and helped plan school wide campaigns in honor of Not a Lab Rat Day, Red Ribbon Week, and Take Down Tobacco Day. Jasmine has been a major asset to our SWAT Youth Program, and we are excited to see what she, alongside her SWAT peers, accomplishes with our DeSoto SWAT Chapter next year.
Alex Tenorio and Leah Tejada - DHS SWAT Honor Cord Recipients
Also included in the celebration were two of our SWAT Seniors. Alex Tenorio and Leah Tejada went above and beyond their peers to educate their school and community on the harmful effects of tobacco use, secondhand smoke, and worked to eliminate the social norms of tobacco use in our rural community. They earned a SWAT honor cord to wear at their high school graduation as a small appreciation for their efforts. Alex and Leah have been a major asset to our SWAT Youth Program and will be missed!
We would like to extend our deepest thanks to our members, specifically Heather, Jasmine, Alex, and Leah! We sincerely appreciate you ladies for your hard work and dedication to the Tobacco-Free Partnership of DeSoto County and DeSoto County SWAT Chapter.
If you’d like more information on our Tobacco Free Partnership, or are interested in joining our efforts, please contact Jodie DeLoach, DeSoto County Tobacco Program Manager at jdeloach@quitdoc.com
