The 2015 SADD National Conference: Blast Off To Your Future will be held June 28 - July 1 at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.  If you haven't registered yet, don't worry - there's still time to join us for this incredible experience!

At conference, you'll experience dynamic keynote speakers, skill-building workshops, great networking opportunities, and lots of fun!  Add the optional off-site trip to the famous Wildhorse Saloon, and you'll enjoy dinner and line-dancing lessons on a private, alcohol-free floor.

Don't miss this incredible opportunity, which attendees have described as critical to their chapter's success.  Need help fundraising for conference?  Use our Conference Fundraising Toolkit for ideas and step-by-step instructions!

Are you ready to register or learn more about conference?  Click here for more information.

Every day, we see news clips of great things SADD students are doing across the country.  There are creative activities, incredible advisors, and outstanding chapters.  Now it's time for YOUR chapter to get some recognition, by applying for one or more of the Best of SADD National Awards.  We'll be handing out cash prizes for Activity of the Year, Advisor of the Year, and Chapter of the Year.  WE'VE EXTENDED THE DEADLINE TO APPLY UNTIL MONDAY, MAY 11 - so there's still time! To learn more and access the forms, click here.

Our friends at YSA are looking for applicants for their National Child Awareness Month Youth Ambassador program.  One student aged 16-22 will be selected from each state.  If chosen, you'll head to Washington, DC, on an all-expense-paid training, and receive $1,000 to put a service-learning program into effect.  Applications are due by June 10.  To learn more and request an application, visit ysa.org/ncam. 

May is Global Youth Traffic Safety Month, organized by our friends at NOYS (National Organizations for Youth Safety).  You can download the Global Youth Traffic Safety Month Action Guide, which contains statistics and data, program ideas, media and proclamation templates, and more by clicking here.

May is also Mental Health Month.  Mental health is a growing issue for SADD chapters.  Many chapters focus on positive peer support, de-stigmatizing mental health issues, and helping connect struggling classmates with resources offered by the school.  May 7 is National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, and you can check out activities being offered across the country by clicking here.  What is your chapter doing to promote good mental health in your school or community?

May 17-23 is National Prevention Week.  Each day of the week has a different prevention focus - from tobacco to alcohol to prescription drugs and mental health issues like suicide prevention.  The "I Choose" Project is one component of the week, in which you send a photo of yourself with a message written (on a downloadable sign) explaining why substance abuse prevention or mental health is important to you.  Click here to learn more about National Prevention Week.

This monthly column highlights the impressive work SADD chapters are doing all across the country.  Want to see YOUR chapter in the Spotlight?  Send news and a good group photo to fieldservices@sadd.org. 

This month, we're recognizing a couple of chapters that held Distracted Driving Summits as part of SADD affiliation with NOYS (National Organizations for Youth Safety).  Teams of students and advisors traveled to Washington last fall for training.  Back home, they put on distracted driving summits as part of April's National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.  A number of SADD students and chapters put on these summits - too many to feature here.  So here are two examples.

Desert Mirage High School SADD, in Thermal, California, put on an impressive event.  Led by Agustin Arreola and Julio Mendez (pictured at left in long-sleeve blue shirts), they brought in speakers including the California Highway Patrol, and held a variety of activities to educate students.  Agustin serves on the current SADD National Student Leadership Council, and Julio was chosen to serve on next year's SLC.  Both also participated in SADD SPEAKs, our advocacy training program.  Agustin's father was killed in a crash involving a distracted driver a number of years ago, and he's worked through SADD to make an important difference.  Congrats to them and their entire chapter!

Gahanna Lincoln High School SADD in Gahanna, Ohio, took another path.  Teacher Meredith Heilmann and students Kari Brown and Becca Whatley were impacted by the loss of a student in a distracted driving crash.  They were chosen to attend the NOYS training, where they discovered they were the only group there that was not affiliated with a national organization like SADD.  After chatting with other students present, they made the decision to start a SADD chapter at their school, and  the Summit served as the kickoff activity for their chapter!  They planned an entire week of activities, with a seat belt survey, themed days, assemblies for every grade level with compelling speakers and statistics, a pledge to avoid distracted driving, and a mini safety fair at lunch with representatives from groups such as AT&T, Impact Teen Drivers, insurance companies, and more.  What a fantastic start to a chapter that will continue to make a difference within their school!

Dover High School SADD in Dover, Pennsylvania, recently brought the Aevidum program to their school.  Aevidum began at Cocalico High School in Denver, Pennsylvania, as an offshoot of the school's SADD chapter after they lost a student to suicide.  A created word from Latin roots, "aevidum" means "I've got your back" and is intended to encourage positive peer support for other students.  In 2009, Aevidum was recognized as the SADD National Activity of the Year.  To learn more, visit aevidum.com. 

Congratulations to these chapters for their hard work, and to all SADD chapters everywhere making a difference in their communities!

Each month, the SADD National Student Leadership Council (SLC) Healthy Relationships Committee will present an article in The SADDvocate.

This month, we're focusing on working relationships - whether as a volunteer or intern, or once you enter the professional world.  This includes the ways we interact with co-workers, conduct ourselves professionally, and make the most of our experience.

Want to improve your work relationships?  Offer to assist co-workers, be a team player, act responsibly, and be the leaders we know you are!  Sometimes in the workplace you will need to step up and help others to accomplish team goals.  Be willing to try something new when helping others, because chances are you will learn something along the way!

Learning from your mistakes is also important.  Admit your mistakes, take responsibility for them, and ask for help in fixing the situation.  You aren't the first to make a mistake, and you won't be the last, but honesty and accepting responsibility will build trust and end up strengthening your work relationships.

Finally, a big part of being a professional is good manners.  Being polite, speaking to others with respect, and showing respect for yourself are significant ways to be successful.

The SLC encourages you to keep these things in mind as you enter the work world.  Every experience is an opportunity to learn and grow as a leader, so be open-minded and make the best of your future endeavors.  Internships and volunteer work are great ways to build connections, so we challenge you to get out there and get involved!