Tribune Staff Reports
Seymour Middle School student Alex Garcia has taken the first step to becoming an internationally recognized artist by winning a local competition sponsored by the Seymour Evening Lions Club.
The 13-year-old’s poster is among more than 600,000 entries submitted worldwide in the 31st annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest. Lions Clubs International is sponsoring the contest to emphasize the importance of world peace to young people everywhere.
Garcia’s poster was judged by school officials for its originality, artistic merit and portrayal of the contest theme, “Kindness Matters.” The judging recently was conducted at the school.
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His poster will advance to face stiff competition through multiple district and international rounds of competition if he is declared the international grand prize winner.
One grand prize winner and 23 merit award winners will be selected. The grand prize includes a cash award of $5,000, plus a trip for the winner and two family members to an award ceremony.
The 23 merit award winners will each receive a certificate and a cash award of $500. Garcia received a $25 gift card for winning at the local level.
Macy Casner, a 12-year-old student at Seymour Middle School, has won the local essay contest sponsored by the Seymour Evening Lions Club. Her essay will advance to the next level of the Lions International Peace Essay Contest. The grand prize in this contest is $5,000.
International grand prize and merit award winners may be viewed online at lionsclubs.org and using #peaceposter.
Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization with 1.4 million members in more than 47,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographic areas.
In addition to its efforts toward conquering blindness, the organization has made a strong commitment to community service and helping youth throughout the world.
The Seymour Evening Lions Club meets at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at First Financial Bank, 1130 E. Tipton St., Seymour.