Boehner Welcomes Congressional Arts Competition Winner to D.C.
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) recently welcomed Lakota High School senior Jennifer Whitacre to Washington where he congratulated her on winning the 2007 Congressional Arts Competition, An Artistic Discovery.
Jennifer’s artwork, a painting entitled Forest Nymph, will hang in the U.S. Capitol for a year. She and her family met with Boehner and participated in events set up by the Congressional Arts Caucus for competition winners. The Whitacres also enjoyed a Capitol tour.
“Exposure to the arts provides our students with a rounded education, teaching them not only the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic but how art can enrich our lives,” Boehner said. “I’m pleased to be able to showcase the artistic talents of students like Jennifer Whitacre, whose painting will represent Ohio ’s 8th District in the U.S. Capitol.”
Jennifer was among 8th District high school students to enter the 2007 Congressional Arts Competition. The second- and third-place winners’ artwork as well as two pieces that took honorable mention will hang in Boehner’s West Chester and Troy district offices where they may be viewed by the public.
The other winners are:
2nd Place: Kyle Lyons, 11th grade at Troy High School ; Troy resident; Atom Heart Cows; medium: printmaking.
3rd Place: Kelsey Horst, 12th grade at Lakota West High School ; Liberty Township resident; The Real Me; medium: Adobe Photoshop 7.0.
Honorable Mention: Amanda Weismann, 12th grade at Lakota West High School ; West Chester resident; Look Right Thru Me; medium: oil pastel.
Honorable Mention: Justin Fiora, 12th grade at Options Academy – The Arts; Trenton resident; Traces of Traci; medium: chalk and charcoal.
Competition judges were: Sue Samoviski, president of City of Sculpture in Hamilton; Cathy Mayhugh, director of Exhibitions at Fitton Center for Creative Arts in Hamilton; Jackie Quay, site supervisor of Options Academy – The Arts, a Butler County Technology and Career Development School in Hamilton; and Pat Young, Art Department chair at Lakota West High School in West Chester.
