RICHMOND —
The artwork of most any 9-year-old might make it to the refrigerator, with two magnets holding it up next to the grocery list. But Tanner McIntosh, a fourth-grader at Daniel Boone Elementary, will be able to drive by and look out of a car window to view his masterpiece.
Tanner was chosen as the winner of this year’s Be A Children’s Champion poster contest. His poster will be displayed on three billboards, one in Berea and two in Richmond.
Picking a theme for his poster was pretty easy, Tanner said in an interview at the Richmond Register office Wednesday. “I love baseball. I really just like all sports, and I thought other people would like the idea of being an all-star.”
Although he said it was hard to determine what the background would be, he finally settled on his favorite color: neon green.
“I just went with it — I knew it had to be bright,” Tanner said.
He modeled the man and woman on the poster after his mom and dad, Traci and Scott McIntosh, he said, but he put “an artistic spin on them.”
When asked about the person in the middle with the big muscles, he turned his thumbs inward, pointed at himself and replied, “That’s this guy, right here.”
Tanner is the second winner in a row from teacher Mary Carole Tate’s class at Daniel Boone, Traci said.
He also is the 15th winner of the annual contest, which has gained popularity in the county’s schools over the years, said Phillis Adams, chair of the Be A Children’s Champion group.
Adams was Kentucky River Foothills Head Start director until she retired after 35 years of service. Along with Family Resource and Youth Services Center directors from local schools, she helped begin the group in 1997.
The following year, the group began displaying the posters on billboards through the generosity of local sponsors and contributers such as the Kiwanis Club, Adams said.
“The whole idea is to make everyone in the community more aware of doing the right thing for kids,” she said. “We want adults to be more thoughtful about children’s issues and become advocates for them.”
The main responsibility of the group is to “get the message out,” Adams said. “And to be on the forefront of making things better for our kids.”
Along with countywide student participation, the billboard poster contest is a great way to reach out to the community, she added.
Although Tanner learned everything he knew about drawing from his sister, he said, he’s probably not going to spend any of his $100 prize money on her.
“She’s a good drawer. She inspired me,” Tanner said of his sister, Morgan McIntosh, an eighth-grader at B. Michael Caudill Middle School.
After donating $10 of the money to his church, Tanner wants to buy the architecture-series Legos to build the Empire State Building.
Tanner aspires to be an engineer when he grows up, he said, and has already constructed a Lego replica of the White House.
However, he added, “The worse thing about Legos, if you step on them in the dark, it hurts like crazy.”
March is Children’s Champion Month and is full of family-oriented activities (more events will be announced as they are confirmed):
• March 4: Car seat checks by Safe Kids Madison County and the health department, 2:30-4:30 p.m. at Berea Head Start (behind the Russel Acton Folk Center). For details, call 626-4251.
• March 8: Kidz Night Out, activities and refreshments for ages 6-12, 6 -10 p.m., Russel Acton Folk Center. Admission is $3 per child, who must be signed up by noon. For details, call Berea Parks & Recreation at 986-9402.
• March 12: Couponing for Parents, 9-10:30 a.m. and 6-7:30 p.m., Madison County Cooperative Extension Center. Register by calling 623-4072.
• School Staff Appreciation, Chick-fil-A at the Richmond Centre. Show a school ID to get a free cookie with a meal purchase.
• March 16: Indoor Petting Zoo, 10:30-12:30 p.m. at the Madison County Public Library Richmond location and 2-4 p.m. at the Berea location. Door prizes will be awarded.
• March 17: Family Special Bowling Day, noon to 4 p.m., Galaxy Bowling Center. The price is $10 per lane per hour.
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