SILVERHILL, Ala. — Among the antiques in the People’s Supply Company store that is now a branch of United Bank, there are two hand-painted rocking chairs.

Both chairs would be fine additions to a porch or an eclectic home. One, painted by Susan Caver’s students at Silverhill Elementary features a frog catching a flying bug made of coins. The other, painted by De’Lynne Luckey’s third grade students at Central Christian School, features coins and a piggy bank.

“Aren't they adorable,” asked Sheryl McCurry, a branch specialist at United Bank.

Turning more serious, she continued, “Thirty-four schools have entered.”

McCurry explained that United donated the wooden rocker to the schools’ parent-teacher organization or association, and that students, under the direction of a teacher painted the chair to tie in with the contest theme of “savings.”

All the chairs were taken to United Bank’s home office in Atmore last weekend, where they were judged.

“There will be four zones (for judging),” said McCurry. Each zone winner gets $250, which goes to the PTA/PTO. The grand winner gets an additional $500.”

That’s $750 for winning. It was announced Wednesday morning that the winner of the competition is from Magnolia Springs. But all the entrants come out winners. The chairs are auctioned off to the highest bidder. That means the chairs will return to their respective banks where the public and take a look and perhaps place a bid. The winning bid gets the chair and the school’s parent organization gets the money. The last day to bid on the chairs is May 7.

“This will help our organization immensely,” said Carmen Godfrey, the PTA president at Silverhill. She added that the PTA plans to purchase classroom supplies for the school’s teachers as state funding for the supplies went with budget cuts.

And while Godfrey would like to have the Silverhill chair, she knows that isn’t likely.

“I’ve already been outbid on the sheet,” she said.

For former Central Christian Parent Association President Jacque Johnson, the chair contest was a way for students to, “participate in the community.”

She added that the third-grade students painted the chair.

“It came out great,” she said.