Franklin County Garden Club Sponsors Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl Poster Contest
Franklin County Garden Club sponsored the annual Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl Poster Contest. Five Franklin County elementary schools participated and the children created posters depicting Smokey Bear’s theme, “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires!”, or Woodsy Owl’s theme, “Lend a Hand – Care for the Land.”
The poster contest has been conducted each year since 1961, and is part of a partnership between the National Garden Clubs, Inc. and the U.S. Forest Service to help raise awareness and understanding of our natural environment and the need to protect and sustain it. The contest is open to any group of children, grades 1 through 5 – Scout Troops, after school programs, and the like.
This year 255 students from five schools submitted posters for the contest in December. The five schools were Clark Memorial Elementary School, Decherd Elementary School, North Lake Elementary School, Broadview Elementary School, and Huntland School. First, second and third place winners were chosen for each grade. These winners received gift bags containing items from the US Forest Service including coloring books, bracelets, stickers, rulers and pencils. Participants also received certificates of appreciation. A selection of the posters are on display at the Franklin County Library.
Four of the participating schools held assemblies where Smokey Bear made an appearance to congratulate the students on their achievements and to spread the word about fire safety. Rangers from the Department of Agriculture / Forestry Division: Mr Bob Nunley, Mr Russel Taylor, Mr Geron Brewer, and Mr Skyler Meeks participated in the assemblies. They did an excellent job of spreading the message to the students about fire safety and caring for the land, as well as bringing Smokey along to greet the kids at all the assemblies.
Special guests at the North Lake Assembly, in addition to Smokey, included Ms Phyllis Allen, District I Director and Tennessee Smokey Bear Poster Chairman, Ms Denise Thorne, President elect, Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs, 2023, Ms Bobbie Wolcott, District II Director, and Ms Lola Eslick, Franklin County Garden Club President. Also present from the Franklin County Garden Club were Ms GG Preble, Vice President, Ms Betsy Craig, Vice President, Ms Karen Rizzuti, Smokey Bear Lead, Ms Faye Kohler, Ms Lois Brown, and Ms Karen Tice, Treasurer.
Franklin County Garden Club members selected one winner from each grade, 1st through 5th, to forward to the State for the next level competition. State winners will go to the Regional level next, and finally to the national level for judging. Winners selected for the next level of competition will be announced in March.
First Grade winner is: Brendan Fitzpatrick, Decherd Elementary; Second Grade winner is: Nishtha Patel, Decherd Elementary; Third Grade winner is: Jonathan Perez, Huntland School; Fourth grade winner is: Jentri Fanning, Huntland School; and Fifth grade winner is: Brylee Moorehead, Huntland School. Thank you to all the students for participating and to their teachers and the school administrators for their encouragement.
The Franklin County Garden Club will spin up the local contest again in the fall of 2023. Students will have a chance to submit their artwork and compete for the national grand prize: a free trip to Washington DC with round trip airfare and accommodations for four, attendance at a recognition ceremony, and a $50 check.
For further information, you can access the U.S. Forest Service website: www.fs.usda.gov/learn/kids or contact the Franklin County Garden Club, Lola Eslick at eslickla@icloud.com.
