Shannon Roberts, an employee of Kum & Go, 1004 1st St., in Havre, has received a $100 gift certificate for refusing to sell tobacco products to a minor.
Her name was drawn from a pool of clerks throughout Montana who were caught “doing the right thing” during a recent three-month period.
These clerks were identified through Reward and Reminder - a Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services program to promote compliance with Montana's youth access to tobacco law.
Reward and Reminder helps Montana maintain a compliance rate above 80 percent during official merchant inspections conducted each year.
The program involves a minor, under the supervision of an adult, entering a business and attempting to purchase an age-restricted tobacco product. Clerks who refuse the sale receive a “Reward” card thanking them and offering the opportunity to enter a drawing for a $100 gift certificate. Clerks who agree to sell tobacco to the minor receive a “Reminder” card indicating that they could have been fined a $25 education fee for the civil offense of selling tobacco to a minor. The adult supervisor witnesses the transaction and presents the cards.
Reward and Reminder surveyors visit tobacco retailers in nearly all Montana counties two to four times each year.
