Smoked out
Twelve-year-old Jordan Soucy of Lawrence wants the anti tobacco poster she created to send a message to smokers.
"Hopefully, they'll see what it can do to you and stop before they get sick," she said.
Jordan is one of a dozen elementary school students who earned top honors in the 12th annual Massachusetts Medical Society and Alliance's 2007 Anti-Tobacco Poster Contest, a program designed to make young people aware of the dangers of tobacco and smoking. The statewide contest attracted 4,400 entries from students in grades 1 through 6.
Other winners included Hannah Leahy of Shirley and Madeline Pelley of Reading, who just finished second grade, and Connie Truong of Lawrence, who just finished sixth grade. All winners were honored at a State House ceremony and received $50 gift cards.
Posters were judged by staff and physician members of the Massachusetts Medical Society and members of the Medical Society Alliance. Jordan's poster, titled "Why I Won't Start Smoking," features four squares illustrating her desire to live a long life, have a healthy heart and lungs, save her money, and appear younger and healthier.
All winning entries may be viewed at MassMed.org/antitobacco_winners.
ACTIVIST REELECTED: Pat Costello of Lexington said she got involved with the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts five years ago to encourage participation in government. Recently re elected as director for a two-year term, she hopes more people will become involved in the organization.
"I hope that more men and women in Massachusetts will join the League of Women Voters in the important work that needs to be done to keep our democracy strong and healthy, " Costello said.
The organization's agenda over the next two years will examine immigration, affordable housing, healthcare, the environment, and ensuring that voting in Massachusetts is easy, accessible, and fair, particularly in underrepresented communities. The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts is also launching a nonpartisan Vote 2008 campaign to promote informed voting at the polls.
VEIN HOPES: Kay Doyle of Lowell said that when she was growing up in upstate New York in the 1960s, young women were largely encouraged to become teachers, nurses, and secretaries. As a candy striper, however, she was more interested in the laboratory, to which she delivered specimens, than in patient care. She further narrowed her career goals in college after viewing her "first and last" autopsy, which erased any thoughts she had about attending medical school.
"I really liked biology, chemistry, and science, and I was good at math. The laboratory has been a good fit for me," said Doyle, chairwoman of the Department of Clinical Laboratory and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. "Physicians base so much of their decision-making process, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment monitoring on accurate laboratory work. It's essential that the people in the laboratory are strong scientists."
Doyle, who has been director of the university's medical technology program since 1983, said she was "surprised and absolutely thrilled" to be recently presented with the Karen Tiegerman Memorial Award from the Massachusetts Association of Blood Banks in recognition of her contributions to transfusion medicine and blood banking.
Among her many positions, Doyle is a member of the board of governors for the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Registry in Chicago. Locally, she is on the board of directors for the Greater Lowell Community Foundation and board of advisers for the American Textile History Museum in Lowell.
Items for the People column may be sent to cantrell@globe.com. 
