12 Winners Selected out of more than 400 Entries from 24 Participating Schools
The Mayor and City Council celebrated the winners of the 2017 Water Conservation Poster Contest at a special awards ceremony yesterday. The ceremony, which was attended by the winners and their family members, was held during the City Council’s monthly meeting in the City Council Chambers.
“We congratulate the 12 outstanding young artists who won this year’s contest for their creative accomplishments,” said Councilman and Orange County Water District Board Member Vicente Sarmiento who presented a certificate to each winner. “And we thank the Santa Ana School District and our judges for their participation in making this year’s contest such a success. Water conservation is important and this contest offers youth and their families the opportunity to explore ways they can cut back water use in their daily lives.”
Commissioner Sandra Peña and local artists Federico Medina and Omar Avalos served as this year’s judges. Out of 413 entries, they chose 12 winning posters: 2 finalists and a grand prize winner in four different age categories. They used four scoring criteria, which included level of originality, visual and word clarity, and adherence to the water conservation theme “It’s Up To Us Santa Ana.” The following are the names of this year’s winners:
Ages 5-8
Devenny L. Ramirez, 8, grand prize winner
Ariana Velazco, 8, 2nd place finalist
Delanna Dinh, 7, 3rd place finalist
Ages 9-12
Laisha Echegoyen, 11, grand prize winner
Matthew Bay, 9, 2nd place finalist
Dominic Mendez, 11, 3rd place finalist
Ages 13-14
Karla Larios, 13, grand prize winner
Natalie Rivera, 13, 2nd place finalist
Jennifer Barajas, 14, 3rd place finalist
Ages 15-18
Alberto Rodriguez, 16, grand prize winner
Linda Yanez, 15, 2nd place finalist
Jesusantonio Cervantes, 17, 3rd place finalist
Winning posters will be on display at City Hall, 20 Civic Center Plaza, through April 30, and featured in the annual Water Quality Report to be published this spring. The posters will also be highlighted on special magnetic calendars, which will be handed out at community events throughout the year.
“We chose the theme ‘It’s Up To Us Santa Ana’ this year because it takes a community to make a difference and conserve water,” adds Nabil Saba, Water Resources Manager for the City of Santa Ana. “Last year, we cut our overall water use by 17 percent and proved what can happen when a community comes together to use water efficiently.”
The annual contest was launched in 2015 by the Santa Ana Water Resources Division as an educational project for youth ages 5-18 to raise awareness of everyday water conservation practices through the arts and creativity. Participating in this year’s contest were 24 schools throughout Santa Ana. Lowell Elementary ranked the highest in participation with 78 contest entries.
Additional information about the annual Water Conservation Poster Contest, including all rules and judging criteria, is available online at sant-ana.org/conservation. For more information about the contest and awards ceremony or to inquire about becoming a community partner for next year’s contest, please email [email protected] or call (714) 647-3500.
About the City of Santa Ana Public Works Agency
The City of Santa Ana Public Works Agency, with its four divisions and professional staff of more than 200 employees, is responsible for the city’s infrastructure and quality of life. The agency builds and maintains all public streets, storm drains, sewers, and water facilities, as well as coordinates refuse collection and recycling, street sweeping, public right-of-way landscaping, and graffiti removal. It also ensures the community enjoys high quality drinking water and is able to travel around the City efficiently through the use of a state-of-the-art traffic management system, and collaboration with neighborhood associations and developers to resolve speeding, parking, and traffic problems.
