Cobb Alcohol Task Force - Mobilizing for Change 

e-newsletter

SEPTEMBER 2013

Volunteers and staff working to reduce underage and youth binge drinking in our communities know the effort requires continual vigilance and organized collaboration within our coalitions. But we received many reminders of how important our work is during the 7th Annual Georgia School of Addiction Studies (GSAS) in Savannah on August 26-30, 2013.

 

The best news emerging from GSAS is that the Statewide Alcohol Policy Group met during the week. The Group's Leadership Team is now organized; over a dozen individuals representing Georgia's six regions became Policy Group members. The group is now ready to begin collecting and organizing data into materials that can be presented to legislators and community leaders to educate them about the benefits of passing social hosting laws and raising taxes on alcohol products, particularly spirits. Thanks to Cathy Wendholt-McDade, a director at Cobb & Douglas Public Health and a CAT Board member; and Anne Murray, CAT Poiicy Team volunteer, for their support in organizing this effort. 

 

In the coming weeks, CAT will use this newsletter and other forums to discuss many of the salient issues discussed at GSAS that impact our work in Cobb County.   

          

In the meantime, our work renews for another school year! CAT will hold its next General Meeting on Tuesday, Septembert 10 at 11:30 AM. The meeting will again take place at the Ridgeview Institute, 3995 South Cobb Drive. The meeting will feature a guest speaker, and we are working to ensure that lunch will be provided. More details will be provided in a special e-mail announcement later this week. Please confirm your attendance plans with me by Monday, September 9 via e-mail: [email protected].

 

The 2013 Raffle and publication of the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) videos are just two of the significant activities that will occur during the fall. Expect many more announcements soon!        

 

Also please visit the Cobb Alcohol Taskforce web site, www.cobbat.org, to find out more about program and activity updates. Thank you all for your support!

 

Peter I. Armstrong,

Executive Director 

 
CALENDAR SNAPSHOT

 

SEPTEMBER

7- Walk Like MADD Atlanta 

10 - CAT General Meeting 

12 - Executive Committee Meeting

17 - Education Strategy Team Meeting

18 - ICCPUD Webinar: Address Underage Drinking

19 - CAT Board Meeting

19 - UDETC Webinar: Social Host Laws

21 - Youth Leadership Team Meeting

24 - Youth Strategy Team Meeting

25 - UDETC Webinar: A Model for Empowering Youth

 

 

OCTOBER

1 - CAT General Meeting 

15 - Education Strategy Team Meeting 

15 - Youth Strategy Team Meeting 

 

 

NOVEMBER

5 - CAT General Meeting

14 - Executive Committee Meeting

19 - Education Team Meeting

21 - CAT Board Meeting

 

 

(Please check the calendar page frequently at www.cobbat.org for 2013 meeting times, locations and updates) 


SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHT: 

LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS   


Law enforcement organizations work on the front lines of the battle to eliminate underage and youth binge drinking.   
 
The Taskforce encourages our law enforcement partners to continue to conduct high visibility operations such as compliance checks, shoulder taps, and party dispersals; to implement source investigation protocols, and to support successful prosecution of adult providers and social hosts.  
During September, CAT Youth Teams and other volunteers will support activities in Cobb County being held to honor law enforcement professionals. For more information about how Law Enforcement partners can continue to be proactive, check out this link at the CAT web site.  

 

THANKS TO ALL OUR OUTSTANDING LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS.  Follow the "shout outs" to Law Enforcement partners on Facebook and Twitter throughout September.

 

Taskforce Happenings 


CAT Raffle Will Begin in September  - CAT's most popular fundraising activity is indeed happening this Fall. Once again the raffle prize is an Apple iPad! Tickets will be available in September at a donation price of $10 each. Prize drawing will take place in November. For more information, contact Bonnie Brand, CAT Board Chair, and Peter Armstrong, executive director. 

 

Update: Free ICCPUD Webinar on September 18 - The Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD) will present the next edition of its Preventing Underage Drinking Webinar Series on September 18, 2013 at 2:00 PM EDT. The webinar is hosted by the U.S. Department of Education. Please visit the ICCPUD Webinars page here for more information and here to register.      

 

UDETC Webinar: September 19 - The Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center will present "Social Host Laws: The Good, The Bad, and the Changes," a webinar on September 19, 2013 at 3:00 PM EDT. The discussion will examine the challenges and proponents of social host legislation in the future. Please visit the UDETC Webinars page here for more information and to register.

 

UDETC Webinar: September 25 - UDETC will also present "Partner or Window Dressing: A Model for Empowering Youth to Make Change," a webinar on September 25, 2013 at 3:00 PM EDT. This youth-taught workshop is presented by New Hampshire's Dover Youth to Youth, a nationally recognized student advocacy group. Please visit the UDETC Webinars page here for more information and to register.  

 

Volunteers Needed for Team Meetings - Please see dates/times on calendar and plan to attend one of these meetings. These team meetings are where the action is; all are welcomed.    

 
In The News

Walk Like MADD is Coming Again to Atlantic Station   
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Atlanta frequently works with the Taskforce on alcohol education and policy issues of mutual interest. CAT encourages our partners and friends to explore opportunities for supporting Walk Like MADD, which is set for Saturday, September 7, 2013 at Atlantic Station. The event will also include a health and safety fair.  Read more . . .  
 
CDC Report Cites the Public Costs of Binge Drinking 
One the most sobering (pun intended) presentations at the 7th Annual Georgia School of Addiction Studies was led during a plenary presentation by Bob Brewer, Lead Epidemiologist for the Alcohol Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Brewer discussed a CDC report released in August 2013; the report identifies binge drinking as a major culprit in alcohol consumption problems that most recent data shows is costing U.S. states and the District of Columbia a median of nearly $3 billion. Read more . . .      
  
About Us
Cobb Alcohol Taskforce is an alliance of individuals and organizations which mobilizes and challenges Cobb County adults to reduce underage drinking and youth binge drinking, by advancing strategic enforcement, policy and education goals.

 

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Contact Us
Cobb Alcohol Taskforce
3162 Johnson Ferry Rd., S-260
P.O. Box 823
Marietta, Georgia 30062
www.cobbat.org