Member & Chapter Spotlight

Smoke-Free Advocates of 2020

Veterans Day 2020 – Fleming FCCLA

The FCCLA students at Fleming County High School did a great job of celebrating Veterans Day this school year. With COVID-19, they had to think outside the box to honor veterans. They had a mission to make sure that the veterans in Fleming County were honored. We want to recognize the men and women who have served our nation from Fleming County. A special thank you goes out to them for serving the nation and tomorrow’s future.

Abby Hefner
(Paducah, KY)

Organization: McCracken High School FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America)

Grade: 10th

Abby started using Juul at her first-ever high school football game after being told by a friend that it was just flavored water vapor. She got hooked and later was caught vaping in school and served an in-school suspension. As a straight-A student and member of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), she was devastated and decided to use her experience to create change that would prevent her friends from vaping.

Abby initiated a peer-to-peer vaping education program in her school and neighboring elementary and middle schools. She worked with her peers to develop a survey to better understand youth use of flavored e-cigarettes and used this information to advocate to both her state and federal representatives about the need to prohibit flavored tobacco products. Abby has shared her story at a rally at the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort and at a press conference held by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in support of the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act. Abby’s story and her school’s experience with e-cigarettes have been featured in The New York Times and Prevention Magazine, in addition to several publications in Kentucky.