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Earlier in this school year, the Harman School art teacher and some of her students wrote, photographed and edited a video showing the dangers of drunk driving.
The group had fun shooting the video in one of the students' family home, and using "movie magic" and "special effects" to depict a car crash.
Randolph County's three PRO officers even made cameo appearances in the video, pretending to investigate the accident.
After the video was edited, the group sent it off as an entry in the 11th annual NO School Spirits PSA (Public Service Announcement) contest, presented by the state Alcohol Beverage Control Administration.
It was a fun exercise, but the group didn't expect to hear much of a response from their video. In this year's contest, more than 450 students, representing 37 high schools and middle schools from across the state, submitted 67 video entries.
Imagine the Harman group's surprise when they learned in January that their video had taken second place in the contest. Their win also brings a $2,500 prize to the Harman School.
Natalie Josimovich, Harman School's art teacher, created the video along with a group of her students aged 16 to 18.
"The movies had to be only 30 seconds, so it was kind of hard to come up with a story that we could show that quickly," she told The Inter-Mountain this week.
Josimovich thanked the parents who allowed their home to be used in the video, and expressed gratitude for the help of the three PRO officers: Rocky Hebb from Tygarts Valley High/Middle Schools, Daniel Pennington from Elkins Middle School, and Ethan Carr from Elkins High School.
She noted that the students had fun being creative and solving problems during the making of the video.
Josimovich said there are plans for state officials to visit Harman School in April to present the award. The video will be shown to the student body during that event, she said.