SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Taylor Hooton Foundation made a special presentation to D-backs Advisory Board member Chris Owings before Monday's first pitch. Owings took over the role of representing the D-backs on the Advisory Board after the 2017 season, and he will be featured in a public service announcement campaign promoting health alternatives to performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).
The foundation is a leader in advocating against PED use among young athletes, having spoken to and educated more than a million people since Taylor Hooton's death following his use of anabolic steroids in 2004. Hooton was 17 years old when he died.
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"It's pretty awesome what Taylor's family is trying to do to prevent that from happening to other athletes," Owings said before the ceremony on Monday. "I know in our clubhouse, and around Major League Baseball, everybody wants to be PED-free. This is an amazing game, and you want to play it for as long as possible. It's really cool to see what they're doing and how they're trying to help not only Major League Baseball players, but at the same time, all the way down to high school."
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Owings was presented with a canvass print of his 2018 public service ad for the "It's All Me" campaign that will be featured in team program magazines and the All-Star Game, League Championship Series, and World Series program magazines. The opportunity to impact youth in Arizona and around the country is especially important to Owings, who didn't get much formal exposure to similar campaigns when he was growing up.
"I had a really good background," Owings said. "My parents taught us to do the right thing. Some people aren't as fortunate to have that, so it's important to have the Taylor Hooton Foundation spreading this message. It's not only about PEDs. It's about living a healthy lifestyle, eating right, working out and doing everything you can to be in the best shape you can be without using any kind of 'extracurricular activities.'"

There are current Advisory Board members on 26 of the 30 Major League teams, and the remaining four teams will be naming members during Spring Training as they replace representatives no longer on their club. The members are committed to keeping sports clean and promoting healthy life choices in training hard, eating right and playing fair.