CHAMBER FIGHTS DRUG ABUSE

The High Point Chamber of Commerce will hold its sixth annual event related
to reducing workplace drug abuse Thursday. With the Triad economy showing
signs of emerging from recession, chamber officials said the celebration
breakfast comes at a good time for emphasizing the "Drugs Don't Work" message.

The event will take place from 7:45 to 8:45 a.m. at High Point Country
Club. The chamber is expecting between 60 and 70 attendees. The cost is
$10. Guest speaker will be Richard Boswell, director for the Partnership
for a Drug-Free North Carolina.

"We want to keep this issue at the forefront of the business community,"
chamber President Thomas Dayvault said Monday. "It remains just as pivotal
an issue today as it did when the chamber began the program (in 1995)."

Dayvault said efforts at reducing drug and alcohol usage and abuse in the
workplace have gone to the back burner at some businesses in recent years.

He said that trend was related more to businesses trying to fill staffing
holes amid a 2.5 percent unemployment rate.

"Now that the unemployment rate has climbed above the benchmark for full
employment (5.0 percent), employers can be more selective in whom they
hire," Dayvault said.

"We're looking, with the drug abuse program we offer, to make sure the
programs are back on businesses' radar screens again and to encourage usage."

The chamber offers its drug abuse program to 80 members. The goal is to
reduce drug abuse in the work place as a means to ensure the
competitiveness of the city's business community through higher
productivity, better quality products and lower costs.

"Nearly $100 billion is lost annually in the United States due to drug
abuse in the workplace," said Anthony Newkirk, program coordinator for
Workplace Solutions at High Point Behavioral Health. He is incoming program
chairman.

For more information about the breakfast event, call Linda Hollis at
889-8151, ext. 30.