Melissa Temple almost didn’t enter an amateur short film contest this year, but she’s glad she did now.

Temple, a 31-year-old Lake Havasu City resident, took second and third place in the first Mohave Substance Treatment, Education and Prevention Partnership (MSTEPP) contest held this fall.

Temple won $500 for her second-place film, “Mary Jane Blues,” and $250 for her third-place film, “Grip Your Script.”

“At the last minute, I decided to try one and then my one turned into a couple and then it just kind of went from there,” Temple said. “It turned out pretty good. I don’t have great equipment and I had never done it before.”

The contest was designed to help build substance abuse awareness, according to Laura Jackson, MSTEPP secretary.

“I thought the message and the efforts put forth by everybody was absolutely fantastic,” Jackson said of the four entries. “We do have to remember it was an amateur contest. In consideration of that, I think our quality was just fine.”

The contest was open to any county resident at least 15 years old. The first place winners were from Bullhead City.

Temple, a student in Mohave Community College’s chemical dependency program, said substance abuse prevention is important to her.

“We need to get people to stop using before they start,” she said.

To view the videos, go to: www.mstepp.com.

You may contact the reporter at jleatherman@havasunews.com