OGDENSBURG -- Three Canton girls ,members of Reality Check, received awards recently in a virtual ceremony.

Emma Gainey and Riley Taylor received honorable mentions for their outstanding applications for Reality Check’s 2020 Youth Ambassador of the Year Award; and Peyton Taylor was named the 2020 Central Region Youth Ambassador of the Year. All three girls attend H.C. Williams Senior High.

These local youth participated in and planned a variety of advocacy and awareness events throughout the prior year, including attending the Altria shareholders meeting in Virginia in 2019, assisting with “Trunk or Treat” in Ogdensburg, participating in multiple tobacco litter cleanups, and creating a variety of marketing materials for different events.

The Youth Ambassador of the Year Award sponsored by Reality Check of New York State honors the outstanding work of youth ambassadors who have taken the lead in holding the tobacco companies accountable for marketing to youth.

These young activists are fighting to protect their peers and their communities from the dangers of tobacco use through public education efforts, peer-to-peer training and outreach to policymakers