First Place winner Kary Xu and her teacher Sherron McGrew from HJM Elementary.

Calhoun County Student competes for national, international recognition of work.

Kary Xu, a student at HJM School in Port Lavaca, was the first-place winner in the statewide competition for an entry in the 2014 International Aviation Art Contest. Xu, age 9, competed in the 6- to 9-year-old category.

All winners received a certificate and were recognized for artistic talent during the 32nd Annual Texas Aviation Conference held in Dallas. They also won a chance to compete nationally and internationally with their works of art. In addition, each winning entry will appear in the annual TxDOT art calendar which Calhoun Air Center will distribute to CCISD schools in late September.

This year’s theme was “Flying Saves Lives.” Entries were judged in one of three age groups, 6-9 years old, 10-13 years old, and 14-18 years old. This year, 1,076 students and 57 schools participated in the art contest statewide.

Schools from Calhoun County submit entries each year to a local contest which Calhoun Air Center at Calhoun County Airport hosts. Students from Calhoun submitted over 275 entries this year to the state-level contest.

“We are proud to have a student from our county win at the state-level contest each year,” said airport manager, Dianna Stanger. “This marks five years, it’s great to see how excited the students get when they see their artwork printed in the annual calendar which TxDOT produces.”

The art contest is designed to motivate and encourage young people of Federation Aeronautique Internationale-member nations to become more familiar with and participate in aeronautics, engineering and science. For more info visit: www.calhounaircenter.com.