Wisconsin takes 2009 national LifeSmarts title – National Consumers League

April 29, 2009

Winners take home fabulous prizes, will be honored in local parade

Washington, DC—The student team from Wisconsin’s Oconto High School was crowned national LifeSmarts champions in St. Louis, Missouri on Tuesday. In a tough final match against the second-place team from Washington State’s Kittitas High School, the Wisconsin teens outscored their opponents and did it with great sportsmanship. Teams from New Hampshire and Oklahoma placed third.

“We are so proud of these students from Wisconsin, who represented their state program with class and pride,” 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 a program run by the Washington, DC-based National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer advocate. 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.

“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 health care decisions,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. In the 15 years that LifeSmarts has been educating high school and middle school teens on consumer issues, it has grown dramatically. The program’s latest partnership will bring the program to Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America youth and advisers.

Thirty state LifeSmarts champions gathered in St. Louis, where the best of more than 22,000 teens who competed in the 2008-2009 LifeSmarts program nationwide vied for a chance at the 2009 national title. Across the country, players answered more than 3 million consumer questions at www.lifesmarts.org in the online competition during the 2008-2009 academic year.

At the awards ceremony, Wisconsin’s coach Tammie McCarthy thanked NCL, praised her team’s hard-work, honored her team members, and described how good it felt to finally hold the championship trophy in her hands. McCarthy is a veteran LifeSmarts coach who has represented Wisconsin with Oconto High School teams four times. The students will be honored with a pep assembly upon their return, “Congratulations” signs around town, and an appearance in Oconto’s summer parade.

For team photos, event schedules, grid standings, and more, log on to www.lifesmarts.org.

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. For a complete listing of this year’s prizes, visit www.lifesmarts.org.

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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.