We need holiday toasts (hold the champagne), (soft) apple cider and eggnog (with a little less cheer)! Register for the 2013 Clermont County Mocktails Contest sponsored by Clermont County Safe Communities, operated by Ohio State University Extension Clermont County.
The contest, in its eighth year, will be held at the UC East campus in Batavia from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 26 to raise awareness about the dangers of impaired driving. Organizations in the county are invited to create an alcohol-free mocktail for the event and staff booths to promote the event’s anti-drinking and driving message.
More than 200 UC East students and 10 community organizations participated in last year’s contest held in October 2012. The Clermont Safe Communities organizers moved this year’s contest to late November to target impaired driving around the holiday season. November and December are in the spotlight for the national “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving” Campaign.
Drunk driving fatalities occur all year round, but data shows that the holiday season is a particularly dangerous time on the roadways. In 2011, 760 people lost their lives as a result of drunk driving-related crashes during the month of December alone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
For more information about participating in the 2013 Mocktails Contest, please call the Clermont Extension Office at (513) 732-7070. An entry form can be downloaded at http://clermont.osu.edu/topics/clermont-county-safe-communities. Entry forms are due by Nov. 15.
OSUE Clermont County is a non-formal education branch of OSU. The office merges needs of local citizens with OSU’s research through four focus areas: Family & Consumer Sciences, 4-H Youth Development, Agriculture & Natural Resources and Community Development.