Girl”s poster awarded national honors
BOISE – Young artist Christy Reid meant it when she touted trees as “terrific and energy wise” in her award-winning Arbor Day poster.
“They’re really good for shade, and I like that,” said Reid, 11, of Hayden Lake. “They shield little animals from winter and cold, and I love tiny little animals. They also give us air and stuff. Trees are really beautiful, too.”
The annual contest asks fifth-graders from 75,000 classrooms or home schools across the nation to develop posters on a designated theme. Reid’s entry not only won the Idaho contest, but also came in first in the nation, winning her a trip to Washington, D.C., a $1,000 savings bond and a lifetime membership in the National Arbor Day Foundation.
“I’ve never been to Washington, D.C., so I’m really excited,” said the home-schooled student, the daughter of Brian and Suzanne Reid.
On Monday, Christy Reid joined Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to unveil a framed version of her poster in the state Capitol rotunda, and then to plant a flowering cherry tree on the Capitol grounds. This Friday, she’ll take part in an Arbor Day ceremony at the U.S. Botanical Gardens in Washington, D.C., and then a banquet and parade in Nebraska City, Neb., where Arbor Day started.
Reid’s older brother, Ian, 15, said his little sister’s a talented artist. “She’s done really good drawings – portraits of other people in charcoal and pencil. They look so realistic they could be a photo,” he said.
Ian, video camera in hand, said he prefers making movies – so he was filming the events. “I’m making a documentary of my sister here today,” he explained.
Various officials joined the governor at the ceremony, including state Lands Director Winston Wiggins, who as the state’s head forester, said he has a special fondness for trees. Reid’s poster captured that feeling, he said, with a colorful, detailed scene showing a world of animals, landscapes and a sunburst topped by a life-giving tree.
When Idaho’s contest entries were being judged, Wiggins said, “They brought me in specifically to see Christy’s poster – it’s that good. It is a stunning poster both in its composition and its execution.”
The governor recalled that 28 years ago, he proposed to his wife, Patricia, beneath another tree on the Capitol grounds, one planted by then-President Theodore Roosevelt.
In honor of Arbor Day this Friday, Kempthorne suggested that Idahoans consider planting trees over the weekend. It’s a great thing to do as a family, he said. The Idaho Forest Products Commission will give away 25,000 blue spruce seedlings on Friday, which can be picked up at any Home Depot in Idaho or Spokane, and any Kinko’s in Idaho or in Pullman.
In Idaho’s poster contest, the second-place prize was won by Johnathan Beatty of Seltice Elementary School in Post Falls, and third place went to Brooke Azzolini of Kimberly.
Reid is Idaho’s second national winner in three years, following Hannah Joy Coad of Cataldo in 2003.