Glendale Teens Join Forces With Mayor Scruggs To Deliver
Anti-Street Racing Message To High School Students

GLENDALE, Ariz. – A new message is being driven straight to Glendale teenagers as part of a new anti-street racing campaign.

Initiated by members of the Glendale Mayor’s Youth Advisory Commission (MYAC) and Mayor Elaine Scruggs -- with the help of the city’s Glendale 11 cable staff and police personnel -- the campaign is going directly into high schools in the form of a MTV-style video to educate students on the dangers and severe penalties of racing cars on city streets.

The idea for such a campaign was developed after MYAC President Leslie Troy, a senior at Ironwood High School, spent time recently shadowing Scruggs during Glendale Student Government Day.

“I was talking to Leslie about the dangerous increase in street racing throughout Maricopa County and that Glendale is not immune to its fatal consequences,” Scruggs said.

Over the past seven months, the Glendale Police Department has issued more than 300 citations, made nearly 250 arrests and seized 125 cars as a result of conducting four street racing enforcement campaigns.

“I told Leslie about new, strict state laws that have been passed and said I really believe teens would make better driving decisions if they understood the strong penalties for reckless and dangerous behavior,” Scruggs said. “I asked her for ideas on how to get this information to our teens and young adults.”

The result is a city-produced video that was mailed to high school principals in Glendale last week. Accompanying the video was a letter from Scruggs, asking principals to air the video during their school’s morning announcements before the end of the school year.

In addition to airing the video in high schools, the video is also being shown on Glendale 11. Or watch the PSA online! You will need a Media Player to view the PSA. Windows Media Player can be downloaded for free at http://windowsmedia.com/download.

In an effort to connect with a young target audience, the two-minute spot was produced to look similar to a MTV video. The video incorporates modern “techno” music with quick edits and is put together in a wide-screen format.

The video stars eight MYAC members, who are all high school students in Glendale. In addition to Troy, they are: Alyse Winchester, Deer Valley High School; Malena Arnard, Independence High School; Abby Burkhart, Glendale High School; Amanda Tester, Ironwood High School; and David Vogt, Ben Zierten and Mason McKee, Mountain Ridge High School.

The Glendale 11 production crew shot the video at night near a busy Bell Road intersection, and MYAC members gave creative input to make sure the video would connect with their peers. The video closes with a message from Scruggs, Troy and Police Chief Steve Conrad on the dangers and consequences of street racing.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 17, 2006
CONTACT: Jerry McCoy/623-930-2964
Marketing/Communications Department