FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 19, 2014                                          CONTACT: Brian Rell, 202.225.4876

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert Aderholt (AL-04) today officially announced the winners of the 2014 Congressional Art Competition, which took place at the Mary G. Hardin Cultural Arts Center in Gadsden on April 28, 2014. 

“I am always amazed at the outstanding art work created by these talented young people,” Aderholt said. “One of the judges said that it was hard to ‘wow’ him after 28 years of teaching art, but that he had been really impressed by this year’s entries. His reaction is a testament to the quality of these young people’s talent.”

The Best of Show award went to Guntersville High School Student Helen Nguyen for her artwork entitled Saying Goodbye. The winner’s artwork will hang at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., as part of an exhibition titled An Artistic Discovery.

Congress launched the competition in 1982 to recognize the talents of young Americans. As a part of the program, Helen’s piece, along with other winning entries from around the nation, will be displayed at the Capitol for one year.

The Congressional Art Competition is held each year and is open to all high school students in public, private, or homeschools in the 16 counties that make up the 4^th Congressional District of Alabama. 145 students from the district submitted works this year, and winners were chosen from seven categories: painting, drawing, collage, prints, mixed media, computer graphics, and photography.

BEST OF SHOW
Helen Nguyen - Guntersville High School

PAINTING
1st – Victoria Shouse - Guntersville High School
2nd – Mason Holcomb - Guntersville High School
3rd – Brandon Marchant - Haleyville High School

DRAWING
1st – Valerie Dante - Muscle Shoals High School
2nd – Erin Armstrong - Northside High School
3rd – Kristen Snay - Fort Payne High School

COLLAGES
1st – Kayla Branum - KDS  DAR High School
2nd- Christina Williams - Guntersville High School
3rd – Gayl Rautenbach - Northside High School

PRINTS
1st – Chantal Rautenbach - Northside High School
2nd – Richelle Brown - West Point High School
3rd – Wenyu Guo - St. Bernard

MIXED MEDIA
1st – Cadley Jackson - Guntersville High School
2nd – Cassie Taylor - KDS  DAR High School
3rd – Trey Wheatley - KDS  DAR High School

COMPUTER GRAPHICS
1st - Laura Grace Cole - Guntersville High School
2nd – Maggie Dobbs - Haleyville High School
3rd – Moraga Page - Haleyville High School

PHOTOGRAPHY
1st – Brittani Mason - Guntersville High School
2nd – Kathryn  Johnson - Asbury High School
3rd – Jenna Ergle - Sumiton Christian

Congressman Aderholt currently serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies for the powerful House Appropriations Committee; he is also a member of the Committee’s Defense Subcommittee and the Committee’s Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee, and serves on the Helsinki Commission.

For more information about Aderholt’s work in Congress visit www.aderholt.house.gov.

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