Press Release
Winners of the 2019 Utah High School Clean Air Poster Contest were announced at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at Utah State University on Feb. 9. Over 400 teens participated in the contest from Grand County, Carbon, Mountain Crest, Ridgeline, Fast Forward Charter, Green Canyon, Sky View and Preston (Idaho) high schools. The 31 finalist posters were on display at the Museum during the Community Art Day where youth made buttons celebrating clean air actions, such as limiting idling, trip-chaining and carpooling.
The 2019 state winners are as follows:
Tatum Scow, Grand County High School – Cache Clean Air Consortium Award, $200
McCall Davis, Ridgeline High School – Conservice Award, $100
Kody Cunningham, Fast Forward Charter High School – Wasatch Property Management Award, $100
Kaitlyn Myers and Hannah Zilles, Mountain Crest High School – Healthy Human Habitat Award, $100
Brittney Blanton, Carbon High School – Healthy Human Habitat Award, $100
Mya Eubanks, Preston High School – Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art Award, $100
MaKinna Elwood, Green Canyon High School – Inovar Award, $100
Sabrina Smith, Ridgeline High School – Malouf Award, $100
Alex Powell, Grand County High School – Campbell Scientific Award, $100
“This has been the best contest yet,” said Edwin Stafford, marketing professor at USU’s Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, who initiated the contest in 2015 with Roslynn Brain McCann of USU Extension Sustainability. “We had state winners from almost every participating high school this year, including newcomers of Preston and Carbon high schools.”
Poster entries ranged from the inspiring to the humorous to the terrifying, and prizes for the student finalists and winners were donated by local businesses, organizations and individuals. A panel of judges, including principals from participating schools, past winners and prominent citizens, evaluated the posters on their environmental and marketing messages as well as overall artistic merit.
Stafford and McCann started the contest to engage teens learning to drive to understand the air pollution implications of their new driving privilege and to learn driving and transportation strategies to help preserve air quality (e.g., refrain from idling, carpooling, trip-chaining), especially during Utah’s polluted winter inversion months.
“Many Utahns remain ambivalent about local air pollution,” Stafford said. “Our research shows that that contestants report increased willingness to engage in clean air actions, and they also converse and influence their parents to follow suit.”
“I am so proud of the progress my graphic design students have made. Brittney’s work is a great example of how innovative our students are when they are given the right tools and training to be creative. Carbon’s Career and Technical Education programs and pathways are a perfect way for our students to get their feet wet in professional fields. We hope that as more opportunities arise like the Utah Clean Air Poster Contest, local businesses and employers will consider hiring our qualified students for entry level positions in their fields.” said Anthony Cilli, CTE-Electronic Media Arts Teacher at Carbon High School.
The winning posters will be displayed at schools, businesses and libraries across Utah for education outreach. For more information, go to cleanaircontest.usu.edu.