Kosciusko County Tobacco Free Coalition gets new director

Kosciusko County Tobacco Free Coalition has a new director.

Dan Gray will be retiring, with Heidi Blake stepping in to fill the role as of April 2.

Though Gray began the Coalition’s work in 2011, Blake joined in 2015 as a program coordinator. She has worked to expand the tobacco prevention program in Kosciusko County and develop the prenatal cessation program “Baby & Me Tobacco Free”.

Blake will now oversee all prevention, education, and cessation programs the group runs in Kosciusko County.

The Coalition says tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death and disease, responsible for 20% of all deaths in the U.S.