Humane Society Poster Contest Winner Announced

There were many changes for everyone in 2020, especially for students who had to change the way they lived and learned. Social distancing, quarantine, and virtual learning became the new way of life. As students returned to brick and mortar, necessary safeguards prohibited guests from entering the schools. This made the poster contest challenging at best; without presentations about responsible pet ownership, it looked as if the pandemic would force another cancellation. However, the Society pushed ahead, determined for this tradition to continue for the students. With the help of teachers, the poster contest celebrated its 21st year in the Clay County elementary schools. As part of their ongoing commitment to foster humane attitudes through education, the Society felt it was important to encourage empathy and promote understanding, compassion, and respect for people, animals, and the environment. Now more than ever, it was necessary to emphasize the interconnection of all living things.

Once again, participating fifth grade classes were asked to design a poster on the significance of spaying and neutering to prevent pet overpopulation. Each school chose three posters to represent their classes and a panel of judges decided the top three overall county winners. The 2020 winning poster was created by Alayna Godwin, a student at Coppergate Elementary School. Aside from having her poster made into a giant billboard, Alayna received a prize package that included four tickets to Wild Adventures and a check for $100. Runner-ups were; 2nd place, Ivelisse Gonzales also of Coppergate Elementary and 3rd place, Carlos Hall of Doctors Inlet Elementary. The billboard is up for the month of February and is located on Blairmore and Blanding. February is also National Spay & Neuter Awareness Month... what a way to get the message across!