SALISBURY — The chairman of the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission will be speaking at an event here on Tuesday to introduce Phase III of the Talk it Out program.

Talk it Out is a program started by the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission in 2014. Its goal is to raise awareness of underage drinking and encourage parents to talk with their children about it.

The event will start at 2:30 p.m. and will take place at the Wallace Educational Forum at 500 N. Main St. It is open to the public.

According to the Talk it Out NC website, in Phase III of the campaign organizers will continue to try and close the awareness gap by encouraging parents to acknowledge the seriousness of the issue. They also hope to get more conversations going between parents and children about the dangers of underage drinking.

Commission Chairman James Gardner will also be recognizing local efforts and collaboration, including the Game Plan for Life program that the Rowan/Kannapolis ABC Board, Rowan County Sheriff’s Office and Salisbury Police Department have been bringing to Rowan-Salisbury schools for the past four years.

Game Plan for Life is a program from NFL coach and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs. The motivational event brings in different speakers to share personal stories about handling and overcoming adversity.

The program is also in Kannapolis City Schools and three Cabarrus County high schools.

According to Terry Osborne, general manager of the Rowan/Kannapolis ABC Board, almost 120,000 students have been reached through the program. Congressman Richard Hudson, Chairman Gardner and District 77 State Representative Harry Warren have all recognized the program.

Al Wood, a former basketball player for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will also be speaking at the event.

Wood graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 1981 and set scoring records in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the NCAA. He was picked fourth in the first round of the 1981 NBA draft.

Wood is now an ordained minister with MorningStar Ministries.

A parent and student will give testimonial remarks and the program will end with a public comment period.