November 14, 2003

Lake County InTouch announced the annual Enrique Camarena Award recipients at the 2003 Lake County Red Ribbon Rally. The Enrique Camarena “One Person Can Award” is to recognize an adult and a youth who volunteer or work professionally in the field of substance abuse prevention in Lake County and who personify Agent Camarena’s belief that one person can make a difference. Enrique Camarena was a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent who was murdered by drug dealers in Mexico.

The youth recipient for 2003 is Michael Beaucaire, a junior at District 115, Lake Forest High School. He is junior class president and in charge of raising the funding for buses used to safely transport students to and from prom. Michael is on the executive board for CROYA, the Committee Representing Our Young Adults, a youth group serving Lake Forest and Lake Bluff. He served as a student liaison to District 115’s Board of Education on The Communications Committee, and serves on a LFHS Strategic Planning Action Team, and is a member of a rock band. Michael has pledged to be real and drug-free. He truly personifies Agent Enrique Camarena’s vision that one person can make a difference a reality. Congratulations to Michael Beaucaire, the 2003 youth Enrique Camarena Award recipient.

The adult recipients work so closely together that it was necessary to honor them together. Anita Lee and Katrina Wiltse are teachers, student council advisors, and Red Ribbon coordinators for Beulah Park Elementary School in Zion. Every year they set the goal to make a difference in the lives of Beulah Park students by planning fun activities and being positive role models. Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Wiltse enjoy participating in competitive sports in their free time and bring their love for fitness to the students with a Fit-N-Fun after school club and classroom activities. Encouraging students to find their talents is another way Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Wiltse encourage students to be drug-free. They accomplish this through art mural and puppetry clubs as well as organizing an annual talent show. Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Wiltse also promote citizenship by involving their students in the “Meals on Wheels” program and reading to local nursing home residents. Both Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Wiltse truly embody Agent Enrique Camarena’s spirit that one person can make a difference! Congratulations to Anita Lee and Katrina Wiltse, 2003 co-recipients of the Enrique Camarena Award!

June 14, 2002

LEAD, the community organization Linking Efforts Against Drugs, has announced the creation of a new educational website that provides information to parents and students about the risks of club drug use. Funded by Illinois FIRST, with a grant obtained by Representative Susan Garrett, the project started in late 2000 when concerns locally were rising about the use of club drugs (Ecstasy, GHB, Ketamine, etc.) by teens. Unlike other websites that provide drug information, this site contains locally tailored information about the drugs seen in the area, the level of student use and the types of drug busts conducted in the local Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, or Knollwood community.

The site's address is www.leadweb.org/clubdrugs, and is reachable through LEAD's brand new LEAD website. This educational product was developed by LEAD, and produced together with web-developer Exclaim, Inc. and MagicFilm, a local production company. Click here to view the clubdrug pages.