Moore Haven Students Competing At Fair

MOORE HAVEN, FL. -- High school students from Moore Haven High School will be competing with eight over schools from around the state for the state championship of "LifeSmarts ... the Ultimate Consumer Challenge," on February 19 at the Florida State Fair in Tampa.

This is the 11th year for LifeSmarts in Florida. The preliminary competition for students in grades 9-12 was held nationwide using the Internet. The Florida online competition, which ended January 12, involved more than 48 coaches and more than 1,400 students competing
to be among Florida's finalists. The state finals will match the nine Florida teams that excelled during the Internet competition.

LifeSmarts is an innovative competition that tests students on their knowledge of personal financial management, health and safety, the environment, technology and telecommunications, and consumer rights
and responsibilities. The program is designed to encourage students to think seriously about important consumer issues through a challenging, game-show format.

"High school students spend billions of dollars each year, but studies show that many lack knowledge about consumer issues," Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson said. "Through the LifeSmarts program, students learn how to obtain answers to practical problems, like buying a car and insurance, or understanding credit card interest rates. These are important skills that will last a lifetime." The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is the state sponsor of LifeSmarts.

"I encourage everyone to come out to the Florida State Fair to support the bright young people who will be competing in the state championship," Bronson said. "The fast-paced competition is not only fun to watch, it is also educational. Those in the audience will find themselves learning a few things about consumer issues as well."

The state finals in the LifeSmarts competition will begin at 10 a.m. on Monday, February 19, in the Club Pavilion at the Florida State Fair in Tampa.

Last year's state champion, Marathon High School from Marathon, represented Florida at the national competition held in Philadelphia. The team competed against 31 other state winning teams from across the United States during the three-day national competition. This year's national finals will be held April 21-24 at Disney World in Orlando.