• Loxley student earns honorable mention in Farm-City poster contest

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Budding artists, writers and video editors from Cullman, Dale, Clarke and Marshall counties won top awards in the Alabama Farm-City Committee poster, essay and multimedia contests April 7 in Birmingham.

“The winning entries represent hundreds, if not thousands, of students across the state who learned more about the importance of agriculture and forestry while creating posters, researching essays and editing video presentations,” said Alabama Farm-City Committee Chairman Jeff Helms. “These young people qualified for state awards by first winning their county contests last fall. Each entry features our 2015 theme of ‘Agriculture: Sustaining Future Generations.’”

Mattie Wix of Good Hope Elementary School in Cullman County won first place in the kindergarten through third-grade division of the poster contest, while Dwayne Riley of Ariton Elementary School in Dale County took top honors among fourth- to six-graders. Each won $200, as did their schools.

Cash awards for all contests were sponsored by the Alabama Farmers Cooperative.

Second-place poster winners and their schools received $100. They were third-grader Aubrey Bedwell of Southside Elementary School in Etowah County and fifth-grader Rintik Setiawan of Eufaula Elementary School in Barbour County.

The posters of 10 additional students were selected to appear in the 2017 Farm-City Calendar. These honorable mention winners each received $50. They were Anna Westbrook of Marengo Academy in Marengo County; Arial Corbin of Loxley Elementary School in Baldwin County; Carson Smith of Good Hope Elementary School in Cullman County; Dylan Palmer of Ashville Elementary School in St. Clair County; Josie Beth Riddle of Addison Elementary School in Winston County; Kaleb Giles of Leroy High School in Washington County; Kilah Fry of Moundville Elementary School in Hale County; Meagan Moore of Fayette Middle School in Fayette County; Nadia Choi of Redland Elementary School in Elmore County; and Parker Price of Sulligent Elementary School in Lamar County.

In the essay contest, Hannah Edwards of George W. Long High School in Dale County took top honors in the seventh- through ninth-grade division, and Victoria Hodge of Clarke Preparatory School in Clarke County won for 10th- through 12th-graders. Addy Stringfellow of Alma Bryant High School in Mobile County placed second in the seventh- through ninth-grade division, while Laurin Bell of Hope Christian School in Shelby County placed second among older students.

Essay contest winners and their schools received $300, while second place entries took home $200, as did their schools.

The multimedia contest was open to students in ninth through 12th grades. It challenged participants to use videos or slide presentation computer programs to integrate photos, text, charts, interviews and narration to communicate the Farm-City theme. Presentations were limited to five minutes and were judged on content, accuracy, appearance, originality, audience appeal, graphics, clarity and flow.

Taking top honors was Kaleigh Backstrom of The Way Home Christian School in Marshall County. Second place went to Victor Nguyen of Wetumpka High School in Elmore County. The first-place winner and school received $300, and second-place winner and school received $200.

The awards luncheon was held in conjunction with the Alabama Farmers Federation’s Women’s Leadership Conference.

First observed in 1955, Farm-City Week is celebrated the week before Thanksgiving, but volunteers work year-round to foster understanding among farmers and their city neighbors.

During the Alabama Farm-City Awards, county adult volunteers also were recognized for outstanding Farm-City activities, and Alabama’s 2016 Farm of Distinction was named.