Fifth Grade Student wins Alabama Arbor Day Poster Contest

February 12, 2008 - Thomas Dunn, a fifth grade student at Jones Valley Elementary School in Huntsville has won the state's 2008 Arbor Day National Poster Contest. He will be presented with $50 and a one-year AUFA membership for his winning poster, designed around the contest theme "Trees are Terrific...Inside and Out!" Thomas' poster was selected from over 900 entries from 35 school statewide.

Thomas and contest runners up will participate in a tree planting ceremony with Alabama First Lady Patsy Riley on the Capitol grounds in Montgomery on February 26th, at 1pm. He will receive an Arbor Week Proclamation signed by Governor Riley and speak on "The Importance of Arbor Day and What the Arbor Day Poster Contest Means to Me."

Thomas' poster continues on to the national competition sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota Motor Corporation. The Alabama competition is sponsored by the Alabama Urban Forestry Association, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Auburn University School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences, Toyota Motor Company, Alabama Forestry Association and Legacy, Inc.

The national winner will be announced on April 25, 2008, from winners representing 48 states and the District of Columbia. The winner will be a special guest at the annual National Awards celebration held in Nebraska City, the historic hometown of Arbor Day founder J. Sterling Morton.

Two runners-up will also be recognized in the Alabama contest. They are: John Delmont, Chaffee Elementary School in Huntsville, and Scott Moore, Pleasant Valley Elementary School in Calhoun County. In addition to their cash awards, each student and teacher will receive other prizes provided by contest sponsors. Educational materials are included.

The Arbor Day National Poster Contest is open to fifth grade students in states with a designed contest coordinator. The national contest has been held since 1992 to help promote the importance of Arbor Day and tree planting. Alabama has participated since 1997. More information on the Alabama Arbor Day Poster Contest is available by contacting David West at (256) 237-1621, or by logging on to www.aces.edu/Calhoun.