News and Events
A Reflection on QuitDoc’s Work in Gilchrist County
by Dan Murray
June 6, 2026
As QuitDoc closes this chapter of its partnership with Tobacco Free Florida, it is worth pausing to reflect on what was built, and what endures, across the years of tobacco prevention work in Gilchrist County.
From the start, SWAT approached prevention with creativity and purpose. Over the years all four clubs have been active and growing. Student membership expanding each year as more young people recognize the power of having a platform to advocate for themselves and their peers. At school club days, members set up educational displays featuring comparisons of healthy and damaged lungs and exhibits on the toxins in cigarettes and vaping products. During Not A Lab Rat Days, students challenged the myth that vaping is harmless. During Through With Chew Weeks, pledge tables in school cafeterias brought awareness about smokeless tobacco to a community where that product has deep agricultural roots. And through Park Cleanup Days students collected and weighed tobacco litter to present directly to decision making officials, turning a service project into a data-backed push for a tobacco-free parks within them community.
Perhaps the most meaningful outcome has been watching students grow into leaders, and then watching those leaders give back. Members who first joined SWAT as freshmen returned as upperclassmen to train new students, organize events, and speak at community meetings. Through participation in county commissioner hearings, school board discussions, and public outreach events like the Trenton Quilt Festival, Gilchrist SWAT members demonstrated that young people have a real role to play in shaping local policy. The civic skills they developed will serve them long after graduation.
As QuitDoc steps back from its role in Gilchrist County, it carries deep gratitude for what students, educators, and the school system have shown is truly possible. The students who volunteered their time, staffed booths, and spoke before officials are still here. The policies they helped shape are still in place. That work does not simply stop, it takes root. And in Gilchrist County, those roots run deep.
To every student, educator, partner,
and community member who was part of this journey: thank you.
