FORNEY, Texas – 6-year-old Grayson Acker, a Rhea Elementary kindergarten student, was one of only 12 students statewide to win the first-ever “Don't Mess with Texas Art Contest.” Acker competed against more than 6,000 students in the contest.
FORNEY, Texas – 6-year-old Grayson Acker, a Rhea Elementary kindergarten student, was one of only 12 students statewide to win the first-ever “Don't Mess with Texas Art Contest.” Acker competed against more than 6,000 students in the contest.
The winners' artwork will be featured in the 2015 Don't Mess with Texas Calendar. The winners were chosen by a panel of judges and the artwork was judged based on creativity/uniqueness, inclusion of a litter prevention message and interpretation of theme, overall visual appeal, composition, and age appropriateness, according to a Texas Department of Transportation spokesperson.
“We were very excited,” said Grayson's mother, Melanie Acker, about their son winning. “We were so surprised since it is the first contest he has ever entered.”
According to Melanie, Grayson loves school and it's only fitting because he comes from a family of educators. “He enjoys drawing and does so every day after school in his journal,” she said. He also likes to play with Legos, playing outside, and playing video games.
What's Grayson say about winning the competition? “I feel awesome!”
Two students from each grade level between kindergarten and 5th grade were selected. A complete list of the winners, their teachers, and the school they attend can be found below:
Kindergarten
Grayson Acker
School: Rhea Elementary, Forney
Teacher: Cameron Leahy
Zoe Schneider
School: Shawnee Trail Elementary, Frisco
Teacher: Lindsie Petty
First Grade
Evan Jones
School: John F. Kennedy Elementary, Corpus Christi
Teacher: Adriana Trevino
Victoria Vela
School: John F. Kennedy Elementary, Corpus Christi
Teacher: Adriana Trevino
Second Grade
McKenzie Fitzsimon
School: Mumford Elementary School, Mumford
Teacher: Stephanie Fitzsimon
Rishona Mopur
School: Dunbar Primary School, Lufkin
Teacher: Kathy Goehring
Third Grade
Kara Kucera
Christian Evers Elementary, San Antonio
Teacher: Leslie Lopez
Kelly Chen
Castle Hills Elementary, Lewisville
Elizabeth Stroud
Fourth Grade
Emilia Abbud
Mesita Elementary School, El Paso
Teacher: Anne Sanchez-Brown
Zailey Flannery
Nanny Elementary, Riviera
Teacher: Cydne Reynolds
Fifth Grade
Aditi Buch
Matthews Elementary School, Plano
Teacher: Santos Lozano
Sarah DeForke
Ralph Parr Elementary, League City
Teacher: Carmen Bass
To view all the winning artwork, visit the Don't Mess with Texas website.