Ridgedale Elementary in Morgantown gathered all students in the gym Wednesday morning for the monthly Schoolwide Morning Meeting.
What the students did not know was Reed Tanner and Elaine Dougherty were there to present the winners of the
17th Annual Thanksgiving Day Card Design Competition.
Second-grader Jayden Hose and fifth-grader Jaren Davis were the second- and third-place winners and received backpacks filled with art supplies.
The winning entry was a design created by second-grade student Chase Riley. In addition to receiving a backpack filled with art supplies, Riley also received a gift certificate for $50. For her work in coordinating the project at Ridgedale, art teacher Amanda Garvin received a donation to her department.
Riley’s artwork is featured on the cover of the company’s annual Thanksgiving card, and his name appears inside the Morgantown area card. The firm sends out about 200 cards each year.
Suttle and Stalnaker, PLLC have offices throughout West Virginia. Each year, the regional offices select an area school to participate in the design contest. The Morgantown office reached out to Garvin in October and asked her to coordinate the competition at Ridgedale.
Students in first through fifth grade were asked to brainstorm ideas of the visual imagery that best represents the Thanksgiving season. After deciding on an image and the medium to work in, the creative fun began. Garvin pared down the nearly 350 designs to a few and
sent them to Tanner. Tanner and an indepen-
dent panel of judges had the task of selecting the top three entries.
Ridgedale Elementary gives thanks to Suttle and Stalnaker for the opportunity to showcase the talents of the students. The students were excited about the chance to be a part of the “art world.”
