Submitted to reporter Jenny Hannson of KOIN-TV.

Hi Jenny,

Because you are a health reporter, I hope you will peruse our website which is dedicated to sobriety education and maintenance. Our mission is to honor the memory of my sister Laura who died at 46 because of her alcoholism. 100,000 Americans die every year due to the health complications from this addictive disease. Another 400,000 die annually from smoking-related causes.

I appreciated your recent series on child-abuse issues and hope you will consider the sobriety cause another topic to feature on the front burner. Thank you for your recent story on the founders of Al-Anon and Alcoholics Anonymous, Lois & Bill Wilson.

We champion an addiction-free lifestyle with 251 anonymous Sobriety Anniversary participants who collectively document over 3440 years of sobriety. Joseph A. Califano Jr., the founder of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, points to research which suggests if a child can reach 21 without smoking, using illegal drugs or abusing alcohol, their chances for future addiction are remote.

We celebrate our 58 anonymous Sobriety Pledge participants, and would like to create the opportunity for hundreds more. I hope after reading the Laura’s Story webpage and studying our website including the Laura Mersereau Memorial Essay Contest featured on our Community webpage, you will consider interviewing me on this lifesaving topic. I was interviewed by Union Gospel Mission’s Executive Director, Bill Russell, on KNMT TV’s Northwest Focus program. I also speak to school and church youth groups about Laura’s tragic addictive path and about drug / alcohol refusal techniques.

Sincerely, Brad Mersereau