Student Wins $5,000 In AAA Poster Contest
20 May 1999
Student Wins $5,000 In AAA Poster Contest
ORLANDO, Fla.--May 19, 1999--A poster touting the use of a bicycle helmet was picked from more than 70,000 entries as the Grand Award winner in the 3rd Annual AAA Senior High Communications Contest and 55th Annual AAA National School Traffic Safety Poster Program. The designer, Patryk Rebisz, a junior at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in New York, was awarded a $5,000 college scholarship for his efforts."Patryk's poster combined very creative artwork with a very important message," said Mark Edwards, managing director of AAA Traffic Safety. "The competition was really tough this year, but his unique design stood out from the rest."
Rebisz illustrated his design titled "For a Safer Ride - Wear a Helmet" using colored pencils. The contemporary design depicted a bicycle rider in front of a background of colored shapes.
Judging was held on March 26, 1999 at the AAA National Office in Heathrow, Florida. Other Grand Award winners in the Poster Program were:
| -- | Primary Division - Arianna Ribera, a kindergarten student from Taylor Magnet Elementary School in Stockton, California for her depiction of the slogan "Obey Your Safety Patrol." |
| -- | Elementary Division - Megan Graves, a fifth grader from Crestline School of Hartselle, Alabama for her illustration of the slogan "Buckle Down and Buckle Up." |
| -- | Junior High Division - Candice Joe, a ninth grader from West Springfield High School in Springfield, Virginia for her depiction of the slogan "See and Be Seen." |
All Poster Program Grand Award Winners will receive a $500 United States Savings Bond.
Posters entered in the competition were first judged by AAA clubs. The top 20 percent of these were forwarded to the AAA National Office for national judging by a panel that included a graphic artist from Disney, a high school art teacher, a law enforcement official and traffic safety professionals.
The program is designed to teach students valuable safety lessons. Each year students design posters using one of 20 slogans, with topics ranging from pedestrian and bicycle safety to encouraging seat belt use and pointing out the dangers of drunk driving. Two new topics this year dealt with school bus safety and the need for children under 12 to ride in the back seat of a car.
AAA is a not-for-profit federation of 90 clubs with 1,100 offices providing nearly 42 million members in the United States and Canada travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services.
AAA news releases can be downloaded from http://www.aaa.com/news
