Dougherty High students wins Best of Show

ALBANY — The “Best of Show” winners, first-, second-, and third-place finishers, and honorable mentions for the 2015 Kiwanis Art Contest sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Dougherty County were announced during a reception and ceremonies recently at the Albany Museum of Art.

Dozens of family members and friends of the entrants filled the museum’s recently-renovated Willson Auditorium to capacity to hear the 35th annual competition’s victors revealed. Entries were accepted from public and private schools in Dougherty and Lee counties.

Elementary school entries were not judged in the contest but will be on display in the Sears wing of Albany Mall April 6-18. The mall will sponsor a reception on Friday, April 17, from 4-6 p.m.

Middle and High School art will go on display at the mall starting Sunday afternoon, April 19 and continue through Sunday, May 3. On Monday, May 4, middle and high school place winners and their instructors will be honored at the annual Art Awards Luncheon during Kiwanis of Dougherty’s club meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn.

First-place winning art work from each grade is also entered in the Georgia Kiwanis District Art Competition, which this year will be held in Albany on Saturday, April 25, at the Albany Area Arts Council Building, in conjunction with the district music showcase competition at the adjacent Municipal Auditorium.

The local “Best of Show” winners, chosen from judged entries, were: first place, Ambrosia Oliver, Dougherty County High School; second place, Johnathan Herrbold, Deerfield-Windsor School; and third place, Josie Fallin, Lee County High School.

“Schools of Distinction”, based on numbers of winning entries, were also announced. These were Albany Middle School with art instructor James Middleton and Dougherty County High School and instructor Samantha Miller.

Other place-finishers from middle through high school grades were:

Sixth Grade – first place, Shaquilla Johnson, Albany Middle School; second place, Jerome Suggs, Albany Middle School; third place, Hallie Kate Sadler, Deerfield-Windsor School; honorable mentions – Annalise Allen, Deerfield-Windsor School; Brianna Dawson, Radium Middle School; Jada Bell, Robert Cross Middle School; Abigail Stevens, Southwest Georgia Home School Association (SWGHSA).

Seventh Grade – first place, Kamyah St. Rose, Robert Cross Middle School; second place, Christian Flowers, Radium Middle School; third place, Madeline Conger, Lee County Middle School; honorable mentions – Dwayne Vanover, Albany Middle School; Gracie Carden, Deerfield-Windsor School; Marcus Spriggins, Radium Middle School; Gunner Gerbert, Deerfield-Windsor School.

Eighth Grade – first place, Anthony Anderson, Albany Middle School; second place, Anna Johnson, Albany Middle School; Anna Johnson, Deerfield-Windsor School; honorable mentions – Montreo Sapp, Merry Acres Middle School; Anthony Anderson, Albany Middle School.

Ninth Grade – first place, Jonathan Lewis, SWGHSA; second place, Rhiannon Mize, Lee County High School; third place, Waverly Wabeh, Deerfield-Windsor School.

Tenth Grade – first place, Kaitlyn Bowers, Westover High School; second place, Raheem Thomas, Dougherty County High School; third place, Kahlil Brown, Dougherty County High School; honorable mentions – Emily Harden, SWGHSA; Ciara Jenkins, Dougherty County High School; Kahlil Brown, Dougherty County High School; Raheem Thomas, Dougherty County High School.

Eleventh Grade – first place, Hadden Kelley, Deerfield-Windsor School; second place, Kensley Brooks, Deerfield-Windsor School; third place, Ke’chanbria Ball, Dougherty County High School; honorable mention – Ke’chanbria Ball, Dougherty County High School.

Twelfth Grade – first place, Adrian Wilson, Dougherty County High School; second place, Ambrosia Oliver, Dougherty County High School; third place, Cheyenne Brown, Lee County High School; honorable mentions – Alexia Singleton, Albany High School; Mallory Simmons, Deerfield-Windsor School; DeKovias Mathis, Dougherty County High School.

According to art contest coordinator Kristin Caso, since the local competition began three and a half decades ago, more than $50,000 in scholarship funds have distributed to winners.

“Looking around you here,” she told the audience, “the quality of art we have here in Southwest Georgia is extraordinary.”

Caso said the competition began many years ago as Youth Art Month, with a mission “to emphasize the value of art and art education to all children and encourage support for quality school art programs.”