Kentucky Heart Foundation announces contest winners

The Kentucky Heart Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of its "Why I love my heart" poster and essay contests, which were held in celebration of American Heart Month. Students were challenged to create posters (kindergarten through fifth grade) or essays (sixth through twelfth grade) illustrating the theme.

Emma Rice, a second-grade student at Oakview Elementary was the overall winner in the kindergarten through second-grade category. Emma is the daughter of Rodney and Amy Rice of Ashland. For her efforts, Emma received a new bicycle and safety gear.

The overall winner in the third- through fifth-grade contest was Josie Clay, a third-grader at Cannonsburg Elementary. She is the daughter of Jason and Jamie Brumfield of Catlettsburg. She also received a new bike and safety gear.

Taking the top prize in the middle school essay contest was seventh-grade student Madeline Fletcher of Russell Middle School. Madeline is the daughter of Paula and David Fletcher of Ashland. Her essay netted her a brand new Nintendo Wii system.

Katie Akers, a senior at Greenup County High School, took the top prize in the senior high contest. Katie, the daughter of Carla Akers, also won a Nintendo Wii system.

In total, 15 schools representing all grade levels took part in the "Why I Love My Heart" contest.

"We hope we got our young people thinking about the importance of a healthy heart and the things they can do to keep their hearts strong," said Regina Stout, executive director of the Kentucky Heart Foundation.

Schools participating in the contest were:

• Elementary schools: Summit, Ponderosa, Cannonsburg and Catlettsburg (Boyd County); Oakview and Hager (Ashland); McKell, Greysbranch and Wurtland (Greenup); Russell Primary; Fairview
• Middle schools: Verity (Ashland); McKell (Greenup); and Russell
• High schools: Greenup County

School-level winners received framed certificates and pedometers.

"We are thankful to the teachers and school administrators who found the message important enough to incorporate it into their curriculums," Stout said. The entries showed a lot of thought and hard work, and that made it very difficult to choose the top winners, she said.