The votes have been tallied and Metra announced the news that school-age children across the region have been waiting for — the names of the winners of its 2018 Safety Poster and Essay Contest.
Each year, Metra invites students in grades K-12 throughout its six-county service area to submit poster designs and essays highlighting the importance of railroad safety. This year, Metra received more than 2,200 entries. Students created artwork and wrote essays around the theme “Eyes Up, Devices Down: Look, Listen, Live.”
The contest, which is in its 12th year, enables students to use their creativity to take ownership of the safety message by creating posters and essays that are used by Metra in its safety campaigns. The winners were selected through a three-round judging process with the finalists judged by a panel of 29 that included government officials, representatives from safety and education advocacy groups, business and community leaders, law enforcement, media and railroad professionals.
“We are delighted to see how many students participated in this contest and they demonstrated it through artwork and essays the importance of staying safe near the railroad”, said Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski. “The winners of this contest have done a great job of communicating this message.”
First-, second- and third-place winners were chosen from each grade level in elementary school, middle school and high school. First-place poster and essay contest winners receive an iPad, while second- and third-place poster contest winners receive $250 and $100 gift cards, respectively.
A People’s Choice Award winner will also be selected via voting on Metra’s website metrarail.com. Members of the general public can select their favorite poster from this year’s first-place winners. Voting for People’s Choice will be available online through midnight Friday, June 8. The artist who garners the most votes will receive an additional $250 prize. The winner of the People’s Choice Award will be announced at the June 13 meeting of the Metra Board of Directors.
Metra also recognizes the school with the most entries submitted in the poster contest. This year’s winner is Wauconda’s Robert Crown Elementary with 785 entries. In honor of this achievement, the school will receive an IPad Pro for use in the classroom.
