Former WWE Superstar visits county to promote positivity to children

Published 4:59 pm Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Students at Cloudland Elementary School were recently surprised in the form of a world-renown professional wrestler.

Marc Mero, best known during his stints with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Action wrestling (TNA) made the trip to Roan Mountain to share a message of positive life choices and anti-bullying remarks in conjunction with Carter County Drug Prevention Coalition.

Jilian Reece, director of the coalition, said that Mero is just the latest name to participate in a “Starters Never Start” video to raise awareness about drug and substance abuse prevention.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

CCDP is working alongside local director Josh Wilson to share stories of local leaders talking about the impact of drug and substance abuse. The video series has local names involved, including current Dallas Cowboys tight end and Elizabethton native Jason Witten.

But the partnership with Mero was hard to pass up according to Reece. Mero stepped away from the wrestling profession to focus on his nonprofit organization — Champion of Choices — which was founded in 2007.

Known as  “America’s No. 1 School Presenter” Mero presents students with a 60-minute production and shares stories of his own personal tragedy and triumph on where positive and negative choices took him in life.

Over the course of the presentation, Mero worked with students and encouraged them to treat themselves and their peers with respect, while focusing on cherishing relationships, staying positive and sticking with their goals.

“No greater joy than seeing smiles on students’ faces. What an incredible time I had presenting to Cloudland Elementary,” Mero said in a social media post following his trip to the school.

Individuals can visit www.ThinkPOZ.org to learn more about Mero’s organization and the various testimonials from schools that welcomed him as a visitor.

For CCDP, the organization is currently working on a slew of projects with various local groups. Visit the Carter County Drug Prevention Coalition Facebook page for more information.