The Lake County Tobacco Prevention Coalition recently recognized members, community partners and youth advocates with the organization’s annual awards.
This year’s awards included the Bree Wilson Youth Advocate of the Year Award, presented by VOICE Indiana in partnership with the Healthy Hoosiers Foundation to Mieka Neely, a 2024 graduate of Thomas Edison Jr./Sr. High School in Lake Station. The award includes a $1,000 scholarship.
VOICE is Indiana’s statewide program led by teens who inspire, educate, and encourage their peers to live a tobacco and vaping-free lifestyle. The Lake County Tobacco Prevention Coalition oversees the Lake County VOICE team and is supported by lead agencies Franciscan Health Foundation of Northern Indiana and Community Advocates for Northern Indiana.
Indiana and national tobacco control partners established the Bree Wilson Youth Advocate of the Year Award in memory of Breanna “Bree” Lynn Wilson, who passed away in January 2021 at the age of 22 after a battle with brain cancer. Wilson was a member of the VOICE Action Squad, winner of the National Youth Ambassador Award for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and a Fellow of the TRUTH Initiative.
To honor Wilson’s legacy, a VOICE Indiana Youth Ambassador or Core Team Leader will be selected to receive the Bree Wilson Youth Advocate of the Year Award for their hard work, passion and dedication to advancing health equity for all Indiana residents.
“Mieka is an amazing young woman who truly embodies and internalizes the spirit of VOICE and the VOICE values of respect, healthy communication, teamwork, leadership, diversity and equality,” said Stacy London, VOICE statewide coordinator. “Mieka’s commitment to VOICE over the past five years and the impact she has had on her community made the decision easy for the selection committee.”
Neely joined VOICE in eighth grade and has been dedicated to the mission of saving young people’s lives ever since.
“I am honored to be selected as the Bree Wilson Youth Activist of the Year,” said Neely. “Bree embodied the core values of VOICE. Her light was bright and her passion to advocate and give back to her community and everyone around her was a gift. This award and scholarship is another way Bree’s light continues to shine.”
Neely plans to attend Purdue University in West Lafayette to pursue a degree in biomedical health sciences with a pre-medical emphasis. She is committed to continuing her volunteer and advocacy work at the college.
The 2024 Lake County Tobacco Prevention Coalition honorees included Coalition Champion Karina Buenavides, Engagement Champion Adrienne Jackson and Youth Advocacy Champion Astrid Garett. Special Projects honorees were Penny Cochran, Adrienne Jackson, Connie Martin and Karina Buenavides.
More information about the programs is available online at www.voiceindiana.org or www.tobaccofreelcin.org or by contacting Lake County Community Tobacco Prevention & Cessation Coalition Program Coordinator Irene Boone Phillips at [email protected].
