Pinellas Park High School LiveFree! Club member and Senior Joshua Estremera won 1st place in the Essay contest for Battle of the Belts 2013!  He read his essay at 2013 Battle of the Belts Awards ceremony, held at Pinellas Park Auditorium.

Pinellas Park High School LiveFree! Club also won the “Most Improved” award for using their seat belts. When surveyed pre-contest they were at 79% compliance and after the campaign they raised that to 90% of students wearing seatbelts!

The 6 Schools that participated in this year’s contest were:

• Pinellas Park High
• Boca Ciega High
• Tarpon Springs High
• Palm Harbor University High
• Seminole High
• Bayside High.

“Yesterday we attended the Battle of the Belts ceremony. This was the campaign we did to promote seatbelt safety. We entered essays, PSA’s, and posters. As well as a campaign book. Before the campaign, a survey recorded how many people who attended the school wore their seatbelt. And then there was another at the end of the campaign. In thanks to your guys hard work, we went up 11%!!! We took home most improved, meaning our campaign worked! Josh Estremera took 1st place in the essay section, and I took 2nd in the campaign section. Thank you all who dedicated your time to this happening. We are so excited to steal that trophy from Seminole next year!” -Kahlee Arthur, President of the Pinellas Park High LiveFree! Club