CATS POSTER CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) today honored the winners of its second annual K-6 Poster Contest. Coinciding with the celebration of National Transportation Week (May 12-18), the contest winners were honored at a ceremony at the Chicago Children’s Museum at Navy Pier.Nearly 1,000 elementary school students from Chicago and the suburbs submitted entries for the contest, the theme of which was "How Will I Get There When I Grow Up?" The 15 posters selected as winners will illustrate CATS’ 2003 calendar, decorate toll booths on the Illinois State Tollway, and be reprinted in "Home & Away," the magazine of the Chicago Motor Club-AAA. They can also be seen on the CATS’ website at www.catsmpo.com.
Contest winners, their grade, school and school location, and their teachers are as follows:
· Carmen Chao, Grade 3, James Ward School, Chicago; Kao Wan Yu.
· Eleanor Evins, Grade 1, Meritor Academy, Naperville; Noelle Brush.
· Araceli Herrera, Grade 4, St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic School, Chicago; Maria Bodnaruk.
· Gerrick Ingram, Grade 6, D.S. Wentworth School, Chicago; Mildred Nobles.
· Marie Kosakowski, Grade 5, Our Lady of Knock School, Calumet City; Anne Marie Cibak.
· Lynn Lazzeretti, Grade 6, Thomas Middle School, Arlington Heights; Gary Stockman.
· Augustin Ortiz, Grade 4, Paderewski Learning Academy, Chicago; Anne Schafer.
· Lisa Panici, Grade 4, Peotone Elementary School, Peotone; Jane Jones.
· Demetrias Perry, Grade 6, St. Philip Neri School, Chicago; Debra Wilson.
· Sutamas Pullarp, Grade 2, Karel Havlicek Elementary School, Berwyn; Christie Richard.
· Melanie Ruiz, Grade 6, St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic School, Chicago; Kathryn McClure.
· Kamaria Shepherd, Grade 5, Children of Peace - Holy Trinity Campus, Chicago; Paul Bendix.
· Greta Tamoseviciute, Kindergarten, Divine Providence School, Westchester; Beverly Pavichevich.
· Gustavo Torres, Grade 3, Lincoln School, Calumet City; Karen Banach.
· Enrique Torruco, Grade 3, Oak Terrace School, Highwood; Genevieve Kurian.
Each contest winner received a $100 U.S. Savings Bond, free family passes to the John G. Shedd Aquarium, a framed award certificate and a laminated reproduction of their poster. The Grand Prize winner, Demetrias Perry, will see his poster used as the cover of the CATS 2003 calendar and also received a free weekend night’s stay for himself and his parents at the Holiday Inn City Centre in Chicago.
The poster contest is designed to showcase the creative abilities of children, while also fostering discussions about transportation issues between them and their parents and teachers. The awards ceremony is held during National Transportation Week, a time set aside for local communities and the transportation community to join together for greater awareness about the importance of transportation.
Sponsors of CATS' 2002 K-6 Poster Contest include: American Automobile Association (AAA), Holiday Inn City Centre, Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, Jitney 1 Transportation, John G. Shedd Aquarium and United Parcel Service.
The Chicago Area Transportation Study is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for northeastern Illinois, designated by state and local officials to carry out the urban transportation planning process for the region. The area covered by CATS includes all of Cook, DuPage, Lake, McHenry and Will counties, plus a portion of Kendall County.