Ad Council Los Angeles Leadership Committee Gives High School Students a Boost to Stay in School and Graduate

TV & Radio PSAs to help Stem 36% Dropout Rate in Los Angeles

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Aug 10, 2010, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ad Council, the leading producer of national public service advertisements (PSAs) in the country, announced today in partnership with the organization's Los Angeles Leadership Committee, that they will be encouraging local media outlets to provide significant support for the Ad Council's High School Dropout Prevention campaign this summer to coincide with back-to-school.

"In Los Angeles, we now have a staggering 36 percent high school dropout rate that we must all work together to address in our community," said Scott Remy, SVP Communications at Nestle USA in Glendale. Remy is a member of the Ad Council Board of Directors and the Ad Council Los Angeles Leadership Committee.

The Los Angeles Leadership Committee was developed in September, 2007 to assist the Ad Council in identifying the most critical social issues throughout Southern California and addressing the community's needs through localized strategies. The Ad Council first launched the High School Dropout Prevention campaign in partnership with the U.S. Army in 2000. The campaign, now called "BoostUp," is designed to encourage all Americans to provide support for teens in their communities to help them stay in school and graduate.

The Los Angeles Leadership Committee is encouraging all media throughout Southern California to air the PSAs from July through Labor Day.

The campaign's national television, radio and print PSAs have been localized for Los Angeles in both English and Spanish and the ads encourage viewers, listeners and readers to visit www.boostup.org to give students a boost during the summer to return in the fall to earn their diplomas. The website also features a zip code search function where residents can find opportunities to mentor a student in their community.

The Los Angeles Leadership Committee consists of the following executives:

Scott Remy, SVP Communications, Nestle USA
Sue Johenning, EVP, Group Director Local Broadcast, Initiative
Maelia Macin, Vice President/GM, KMEX & KFTR
Don Corsini, President/GM, KTLA
Greg Ashlock, President/GM, Clear Channel Radio
Ed Krampf, SVP/Market Manager, CBS Radio
Lisa Palmer, Vice President/GM, Adlink

As part of the Ad Council's ongoing efforts to address the needs of communities at the local level, the organization began developing local leadership committees throughout the country since March of 2006. The committees are comprised of senior level executives from the corporate, advertising agency and media communities.

The Ad Council has also established leadership committees in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Detroit, Atlanta, Miami, Tampa, Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia and Houston. Issues addressed through localized strategies in these markets have included emergency preparedness, childhood obesity and foreclosure prevention.

The Advertising Council

The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a rich history of marshalling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has effected, and continues to effect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action and saving lives.

SOURCE The Ad Council