Repeat champs from Pennsylvania takes 2017 National LifeSmarts title in Pittsburgh – National Consumers League
April 24, 2017
Contact: National Consumers League, Carol McKay, (724) 799-5392, carolm@nclnet.org
Pittsburgh, PA—The student team from Dallas, PA, coached by Kevin West, was crowned national LifeSmarts champions in the Steel City today at the 23rd annual National LifeSmarts Championship. In an extremely tight final match against the Virginia state champion team from George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church, the teens from Dallas High School outplayed their opponents in an exciting end to the 4-day competition. Dallas High School students won the national title in Denver, Colorado in April 2016 and returned to the National Championship to successfully defend their title.
Teams from Rhode Island and Michigan placed third.
“We are so proud of these students from Pennsylvania, who represented their state program with class and pride to take the championship for a second year in a row,” said LifeSmarts Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “They played hard and demonstrated their consumer smarts throughout the four-day event. They are true LifeSmarts champions.”
LifeSmarts is an education and scholarship program run by the Washington, DC-based National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization. It competitively tests high school students’ knowledge of consumer awareness, with subjects including personal finance, health and safety, consumer rights and responsibility, technology, and the environment. LifeSmarts is available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in partnership programs with student leadership programs FBLA and FCCLA.
Teens from each of the 31 state champion teams represented at nationals competed as individuals, and the top five scorers received scholarships from NCL. This year’s winners were:
- Environment: Troy Reinert, PA
- Personal Finance: Wesley Maycumber, AZ
- Health and Safety: Ann Metzloff, PA
- Consumer Rights and Responsibilities: Matthew Metzloff, PA
- Technology: Michael Bian, MI
Kerstin Peterson, from Missouri, and Porter Crumpton, from Washington, DC, were named the 2016 Students of the Year. Jeremy Cheney, from Georgia, and Linda Cumpton from Missouri were named LifeSmarts Coaches of the Year. Long-time State Coordinator Sharon Pierce, from Texas, earned the Coordinator of the Year honor.
“NCL’s LifeSmarts program is allowing us to rear a generation of consumer-savvy teenagers who often outsmart their parents on issues related to avoiding fraud, credit and debt, and complicated healthcare decisions,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. In the 23 years that LifeSmarts has been educating high school and middle school teens on consumer issues, it has grown dramatically, with more than 3 million consumer questions answered at www.lifesmarts.org in the online competition during the 2015-2016 program year.
For team photos, event schedules, grid standings, and more, log on to www.facebook.com/LifeSmarts
All winners at the national LifeSmarts Competition received valuable prizes donated by sponsors to the National Consumers League, including scholarships, savings bonds, gift cards, and more. To learn more about the program, contact NCL’s Lisa Hertzberg at 202-835-3323.
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About LifeSmarts and the National Consumers League
LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.lifesmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
