Farmers Insurance will award more than $6,000 in academic scholarships to 35 local student winners of the Farmers Insurance Young Americanos Youth Photography Competition at a special ceremony this morning at 10:30 a.m. at the International Museum of Art & Science, 1900 Nolana in McAllen. The winners will receive cash awards ranging $100 for the elementary school winners to $1,000 for the Grand Prize winner.
The Farmers Insurance Young Americanos Photography Competition, which was held from September 1 through November 6, encouraged students from kindergarten through the 12th grade to photograph Latino Life in the Rio Grande Valley. The photo contest was held in partnership with the International Museum of Art & Science, which has also agreed to display the winning photographs as a special exhibition that will run through March 16, 2003.
Receiving the $1,000 Grand Prize cash scholarship will be Courtney Bess, an eighth-grade student at De Leon Middle School in McAllen. Bess' winning photo shows a young girl competing in a horseback riding competition.
Most of the student winners represent local communities such as McAllen, Pharr, and Edinburg but winners also came from as far away as Brownsville, Laredo and Georgetown. Farmers Insurance will provide over $6,000 in cash scholarships and other prizes to the winners. The photographs will also be available for viewing at the award-winning website www.youngamericanos.net beginning December 14.
"These photographs are outstanding. The students have truly captured what Latino life is like in the Rio Grande Valley," said John Hageman, vice president and state executive director for Farmers Insurance. "Every student, their families and their teachers should be proud of the students' accomplishments."
The Farmers Insurance Young Americanos Youth Photography Competition was developed by Farmers as a companion piece to Americanos: Latino Life in the United States, a critically-acclaimed photography exhibition, jointly produced by the Smithsonian Institution and actor/activist Edward James Olmos, which was recently on exhibition at the International Museum of Art & Science. Farmers is a national sponsor of the Americanos exhibition which is currently touring cities across the United States through 2004.
Farmers Insurance Group of Companies(R) is the nation's third-largest Personal Lines Property & Casualty insurance group. Headquartered in Los Angeles and doing business in 41 states, the insurers comprising the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies provide Homeowners, Auto, Business, Life insurance and financial services to more than 10 million households through 17,000 exclusive and independent agents and district managers. For more information about Farmers, visit our Web site at www.farmers.com .
Following is a list of all the winners and their school affiliations. GRAND PRIZE WINNER Courtney Bess De Leon Middle School HIGH SCHOOL WINNERS Samantha Barnett McAllen Memorial High School Erika Cantu James Nikki Rowe High School Jose Davila Mission High School Chanel Hernandez Mission High School Gabriel Hernandez Mission High School Crystal Luera Roma High School MIDDLE SCHOOL WINNERS Bianca Martinez St. Joseph Academy Devin Oliveira St. Joseph Academy Amanda Padilla St. Joseph Academy Daniella Tellam St. Joseph Academy Paloma Vazquez St. Joseph Academy Inigo Vigil St. Joseph Academy K-6th GRADE WINNERS Juan Alaniz Jose de Escandon Elementary Alejandro Castillo Bonham Elementary Cristina Garza Clark Middle School Robert Garza N.L. Trevino Elementary Tommie Harris Rayburn Elementary Justin Martinez De La Vina Elementary Sean McBryde Cooper Elementary Ernesto Rangel Wilson Elementary Flor Salinas William Travis Elementary Lizbeth Trevino De La Vina Elementary Lauren Zuniga De La Vina Elementary Leslie Zuniga De La Vina Elementary HONORABLE MENTION WINNERS Joselyn Baize Edinburg High School Ashley Bose Cathey Middle School Luis Cardenas St. Joseph Academy Carlos Davila Mission High School Ernie Pena Edinburg High School Victoria Ponce N. L. Trevino Elementary Abram Realista De La Vina Elementary Celina Tafolla South Palm Gardens High School Sylvia Vargas Clark Middle School Jaysonn Vel Gonzalez Elementary
SOURCE: Farmers Insurance Group
CONTACT: Luis Sahagun, cell, +1-323-691-6300, or Luisa Acosta-Franco,
+1-323-932-3083, both of Farmers Insurance Group
