Miss South Dakota Loren Vallaincourt is passionate about spreading the word about distracted driving and reducing the number of accidents related to this phenomenon. Her efforts were recently recognized by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He personally called Loren last week to thank her for her efforts and even spoke about her work in a blog post. 

" To help spread the word in South Dakota about distracted driving, Loren has teamed up with State Farm to offer a new grant program that rewards the two South Dakota schools with the best anti-distracted driving campaigns.

But this program also has an innovative twist. From now until January 15, Loren's video diary will be posted on the State Farm Teen Driver Safety Facebook page. For every time viewers click "like" on one of Loren's diary posts, State Farm will add one dollar to the grant amount.

That's right; the amount awarded, up to $10,000, depends on the number of Facebook users who "like"Loren's entries. If that's what it takes to get America's webizens to see and hear Loren's message, I am all for it!

Congratulations, Loren! I wish you the best in next week's pageant, and I thank you for your important service," said LaHood in a recent blog post.