Ingomar Garden Club announces winners of student contest

Each year members of the Ingomar Garden Club help local school students cut through the red tape of submitting entries for contests by doing preliminary judging — and awarding prizes — before sending them off to state and national competitions.

The chair of the 74-year-old organization’s awards committee and several club members do the preliminary judging for entries submitted by students.

The entries are then submitted to the National Garden Clubs for possible awards at local, state, regional and national levels.

Award winners were announced at the club’s August meeting, where each student received flowers, a plant and a cash prize. The winners also read their poems or essays or displayed their posters during the event.

Following is a list of the winners for the 2019-20 school year.

• Whitney Luca, 1st grade — Shaler Burchfield Primary poetry contest: 1st place local, 1st place state. Cash award from the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania (GCFP).

• Abby Hooper, 2nd grade — Deer Lakes Curtisville Primary poetry contest: 1st place local, 1st place state, 1st place regional, 3rd place national. Poem published in National Poetry Book. Cash prizes from the GCFP and Ingomar Garden Club.

• Mia Lavora, 6th grade — Poetry contest, St. Kilian, Cranberry; 1st place local, 1st place state. Cash award from the GCFP.

• Lauren Karg, 8th grade — St. Kilian poetry contest; 1st place local, 1st place state, 1st place regional, honorable mention national. Poem published in National Poetry Book. Cash award from GCFP and Ingomar Garden Club.

• Chloe Summerville, 4th Grade, St. Kilian “Woodsy Owl” poster; 1st place local, 1st place state. Cash award from GCFP and 1st place Blue Ribbon.

• Carly Salac, 5th Grade, St. Kilian, “Smokey Bear” poster; 1st place local, 1st place state. Cash prize from GCFP and a 1st place Blue Ribbon.

• Cade France, 11th Grade, Vincentian Academy High School essay contest; 1st place local, 1st place state. Cash prizes from state and Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania.