Judges helped Betty Griffin Center go through hundreds of entries from students in the St. Johns County School District to select winners in the 2023 Day Without Violence Art and Poetry Calendar Contest.
“The number of submissions made it a real challenge for our judges to narrow them down to the final winners, but we appreciated all of the St. Johns County students who entered the contest,” said Betty Griffin Center CEO Kelly Franklin. “We also thank the St. Johns County School District for their continued support of our prevention work and our calendar contest.”
Local family-owned-and-operated print company Hartley is sponsoring production of the calendar for a second consecutive year, printing 3,000 for distribution throughout the county this fall.
In the art contest, Charita Parvahaneni, a seventh grader at Fruit Cove Middle School, won first place and Danica Klir, a ninth grader at Allen D. Nease High School, won second place.
In the poetry contest, fifth-grade student Katie Meyer from Hickory Creek Elementary School won first place and Brynn Jenkins, a sixth grader from Fruit Cove Middle School, was the second-place winner.
Those receiving honorable mention include:
Judging was conducted by Antonio C. Scott, a long-time professional in the arts world, and Fonya Lord, a St. Augustine-based writer and visual artist.
Contest winners will receive special recognition during a St. Johns County School Board meeting and have their artwork displayed at the Crisp Ellert Art Museum throughout October during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The contest was open to all St. Johns County students in kindergarten through 12th grade, whether they attended public school, private school or were home-schooled. The number of entries vary each year, depending on the number of students who participate. First-place winners receive $50, second-place winners receive $25 and all students receiving honorable mentions receive $10 each.
