Two sixth grade students from Jackson and Monroe Counties and two high school students from Cape Girardeau and Moniteau Counties are among the top four finalists of the official Missouri Bicentennial Poster contest. The four students were among 225 Missouri students who submitted designs for the theme: Sharing Missouri’s stories: past, present and future. The poster competition, open to all Missouri students in grades 3-12, was held to commemorate Missouri’s bicentennial in 2021.
The poster finalists are Lehualina Taula, 6th grade student at Fire Prairie Upper Elementary in Independence; Luke Ensor, sixth grade student at Holliday Elementary School in Holiday; Mia Foote, 11th grade student from Jackson High School in Jackson; and Ingrid Keene, 9th grade home-schooled student from Tipton.
Each of the finalists will receive a certificate and $200 prize money at several bicentennial poster unveiling ceremonies in mid-March at the counties where each student is from. Officials from the Missouri Bicentennial Commission and school officials will be at each of the local ceremonies. Judges from the Bicentennial Commission selected four final designs, including two designs from grades 3-6 and two from grades 7-12. Hallmark Creative Marketing Studio of Kansas City partnered with the commission to get the selected posters into their final format.
Vinnorma Shaw’s 1921 poster for the Missouri Centennial Exposition at the Missouri State Fair is an iconic reminder of the Missouri Centennial commemoration. Likewise, the final designs of this year’s Missouri Bicentennial Poster contest will serve as a lasting reminder of 200 years of statehood.