One night in June of 1999, Shannon Smith was talking to one of her friends on a cordless phone in the back yard of her central Phoenix home when a bullet fell from the sky and struck her, ending her life, and shattering the lives of her parents.  Shannon had just graduated from the 8th grade.  She was an honors student and a talented athlete with a bright future and unlimited potential.  She was dearly loved by her family and had many friends.  Tragically, other families have experienced similar losses because of random gunfire.

After Shannon’s tragic death Otis and Lori, Shannon’s father and mother, dedicated there lives to protecting the citizens in Phoenix from having to live with the senseless tragedy that they had endured.  They worked with law makers and were successful in enacting Shannon’s law, which made shooting a gun in the air in the city a felony.  This also led to the Phoenix Police Department’s Shannon’s Law education and enforcement program, which started in 2001, and has grown in the area of education each year. 

The Phoenix Police Department is working on the “Shannon’s Law” education and enforcement program.  The City supports a contest which is presented by the Arizonans for Gun Safety.  This contest is an educational component of an effort to stop random/celebratory gunfire.  The contest will coincide with the Phoenix Police Department’s annual Shannon’s Law program which is an enforcement program to suppress celebratory gunfire on New Years Eve.  This is a contest that will assist in educating not only the young contestants on the dangers of celebratory gunfire, but their families as well.  The poster contest, which takes place at the beginning of each school year, is designed as a creative way to educate families of the dangers of random gunfire.  Children (grades K to 8) from 26 school districts (325 schools) are invited to draw a picture depicting the dangers of random gunfire.  A committee reviews over a thousand submissions and selects a winner. The winner is awarded a trip to Disneyland and the award winning contestant’s drawing is placed on a local billboard for all to view.  Several runners-up are awarded gift certificates, and several schools are treated to pizza parties for their outstanding participation.

It will take a significant coordinated effort to stop random/ gunfire.  The police cannot stop it alone.  Through community partnerships we have an opportunity to put an end to senseless random gunfire that endangers our families. 

In a collaborative effort to stop random gunfire, the Phoenix Police Department in partnership with Arizonans for Gun Safety host a poster contest within all of the schools with grades kindergarten through eight, in the City of Phoenix. This contest brings awareness to the communities and gives the students an opportunity to use their creative sense to get educate others about gun safety.

Stop Random Gunfire Poster Contest

Purpose: 
To educate elementary school students about the dangers of random gunfire.  Students will be encouraged to work at home to design posters consisting of artwork with a slogan promoting the prevention message.  The goal is to have family involvement in the project, and by so doing, educate the community of the dangers of random gunfire activity.

Targeted School Districts: 
All schools within the City of Phoenix, with students in grades kindergarten through eight invited to participate.  ONLY ENTRIES FROM STUDENTS IN GRADES KINDERGARTEN THROUGH EIGHT WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Overview:
The Phoenix Police Department will introduce the contest to school districts within the City of Phoenix. In early September, students will receive the rules and will be instructed on how the contest works and what the prizes will be for winning entries. 

All entries must be submitted to the school’s front office by October 2, 2009.  The entries will be forwarded to the District offices where a representative from the Phoenix Police Department will pick them up the week of October 5th, 2009. Entries will be screened for relevance by the Contest Committee. 

A panel of judges will choose one (1) honorable mention per school district and one (1) Grand Prize winner.  The winner will receive a trip to Disneyland for a family of four (4), including transportation, lodging and "Park Hopper" passes to Disneyland for three (3) days.  The artwork will then be developed into a billboard campaign that will run in December.

Potential Judges

U.S. Attorney’s Office Representative
St. Joseph’s Hospital Representative
English Media Representative
Mayor’s Office
Spanish Media Representative
Sports Celebrity

Previous contest entries

Stop Random Gunfire Poster Contest Rules

1. No purchase necessary to enter.  Contest open to students Grades K through 8 in schools within the City of Phoenix.
   

2. All entries must have the signature of the student's parent or guardian.
   

3. Entries must be on the appropriate form.

4. Posters will contain a slogan or phrase in English or Spanish.
   

5. Entries will be judged on accuracy, creativity and effective communication of the Stop Random Gunfire prevention message. 
   

6. Entries will be the student's own artwork.
   

7. Students may submit as many entries as desired.
   

8. Deadline for entries is October 2nd, 2009 at 5 P.M.  All entries must be submitted to the front office of each student’s school or designated Phoenix Police Department representative.
   

9. Entries will not be returned.
   

10. One (1) finalist will be chosen from each School District.
    

11. One (1) Grand Prize winner will be selected from the finalists.
    

12. Each finalist not selected as the Grand Prize winner will receive an honorable mention prize.
    

13. The decision of the judges will be final.
    

14. Entrants and their parents or guardians give their permission for their artwork and slogan to be used for the purpose of promoting the Stop Random Gunfire campaign without any compensation.  They also give permission for their likenesses to appear in print and television coverage promoting the contest.
    

15. Arizonans for Gun Safety, the Phoenix Police Department, participating schools’ employees, or their vendors may not enter and are not responsible for lost, damaged or mislabeled entries.
    

16. In the event that insufficient numbers of eligible entries are received by a district, no prize will be awarded to a student of that district.

Prizes
1) One (1) Grand Prize- Disneyland prize package including airfare, lodging and "Park Hopper" passes for three (3) days for four (4) people.

2) One (1) gift card for each participant receiving an honorable mention.

Stop Random Gunfire Poster Contest Official Entry Form
(pdf form, print and fill out)