Belleville Area Lions Club selects winners in Peace Poster contest

Winners of the Belleville Area Lions Club 2019-20 Peace Poster contest were Ryleigh Fallon, first; Samantha Radtka, second; and Jade Brabo, third from the Owen Intermediate School competition. They are taught art by teacher Virginia Falk.
Winners from the McBride Middle School competition are Kayla McConnell, first place; Haven Green, second place; and Destynee Buchanan, third place. They are taught art by Catherine Kaczmar.
The Peace Poster contest was created in 1988 to give young people the opportunity to creatively express their feelings for world peace and to share their visions with the world.
Approximately 600,000 children from 75 countries participate in the contest annually. Lions Clubs sponsor the contest, open to children ages 11-13, in local schools or organized, sponsored youth groups, such as Scouts and Boys & Girls Clubs. The contest provides Lions with the chance to interact with young people in their communities, introducing the youth to international understanding.
For each contest a club sponsors, one winner is chosen to advance to the district competition. At the district level, one poster is chosen to advance to the multiple district council chairperson.
The first-place winners in each school will compete in Belleville’s district, which encompasses Wayne and Monroe counties. The winners move on to the international judging.
The International Association of Lions Clubs today is the largest service organization in the world with more than 1.4 million members in more than 43,300 clubs in 714 districts covering 182 countries and geographic areas.
This is the second year that Belleville Area Lions worked with Owens Intermediate School and McBride Middle School artists. The theme for 2019-20 was Journey of Peace. No words or numbers are allowed on the posters. Belleville Lions had more than 200 artists compete in the Journey of Peace contest. The 2020-21, theme will be released in mid-February.