Winners of the Come Go With Me Poster Contest Announced

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View Ceremony Photo Collage (PDF)

In the fall of 2007, children in grades K-8 in Nassau and Suffolk Counties were asked to illustrate creative ways to reduce traffic congestion and air quality by demonstrating alternatives to drive-alone commuting. As a result, their participation in the Come Go With Me children's poster contest turned out a record 802 total entries and 20 participating schools.

In March, a five-judge panel consisting of one member of the LITM Board of Directors, two Long Island teachers, one member of the business community, and LITM's Marketing Coordinator chose 13 winning entries. The winning artwork, which must feature a commute alternative, is used to illustrate the annual Come Go With Me calendar – one winning poster for each month, and one for the cover. Next year's calendar is currently in production, and will feature the submissions of the students listed below.

This year's winners hail from nine local elementary and middle schools in seven school districts across Long Island.

"My students delight in this contest. They are very happy to try to solve the problems of congestion and poor air quality here on Long Island and love to brainstorm ideas of how to carpool and use alternate means of transportation to get around. All of the children carpool quite often, whether it be on a school bus, or with friends to after school activities." - Ms. Brooke Schroder, Walt Whitman Elementary School, Syosset Central School District.

"I feel the most rewarding aspect of the contest is their work being published in the upcoming calendar.  I impress upon the children how wonderful it is to be a published artist and how their drawings make a statement on how to better our environment," added Schroder.

The winners are:

"The LITM Poster Contest gives me the opportunity to teach my students about their environment, traffic congestion, pollution, importance of carpooling, taking the bus to school, etc. Also, the award ceremony has been a great event for my students and their parents as well." – Ms. Sefia Paduano, Maplewood Intermediate School, South Huntington School District

Ceremony at Long Island Children’s Museum
For the third consecutive year, the contest winners, their families, teachers and principals, and the New York State Assemblymen and Senators from the winners’ school districts were invited to accept their awards at Poster Contest Awards Ceremony at the Long Island Children’s Museum.

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In all, nearly 120 attendees were present for the May 1st ceremony. Each student received a basket of prizes and all of the guests enjoyed a complimentary dinner courtesy of Lessing’s. The winning students also received congratulatory certificates from Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and Senator Caesar Trunzo. Assemblymen Philip Boyle, Steven Englebright and Thomas McKevitt also acknowledged the winning students in each of their individual districts with certificates. The two first place winners each received a $150 gift certificate towards a new bicycle donated by either Brands Fitness Systems in Wantagh or The Bicycle Planet in Syosset. Afterward, the children made sun catchers that illustrated different modes of transportation – cars, vans, trains, airplanes, bicycles, and buses.

The annual Come Go With Me Poster Contest and Awards Ceremony is generously supported by several local organizations and businesses, including:

• Adventureland
• American Airpower Museum
• Applebees/Panera Bread Doherty Enterprises
• Arena Playhouse
• Atlantis Marine World
• Brands Fitness Systems
• Brookhaven National Laboratory
• Capital One North Fork Theatre
• Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery
• Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society
• Frenchie's Cycle World
• Friendly's (J&B Restaurant Partners)
• Girl Scouts of Suffolk county
• Herrill Lanes
• Hicks Nurseries
• Home Depot
• Long Island Children's Museum
• Long Island McDonald's
• Long Island Museum
• Newsday's Parents and Children Magazine
• Old Westbury Gardens
• Pollock-Krasner House & Study Center
• The Bicycle Planet
• The Whaling Museum
• Theatre Three Productions

"The support of the NYS Department of Transportation, the businesses and organizations who sponsor the prizes, and the Long Island schools and students are what make this event an evening to remember for the children. The opportunity to educate our future commuters and their families about the transportation alternatives available to single occupancy vehicle travel speaks to our mission to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality on Long Island." –Marianne Carillo, President and CEO of LITM.

The Come Go With Me Poster Contest is in its thirteenth year. It was started in 1995 to draw attention to and encourage alternatives to one-person-one-car transportation. To learn more about how your school or child can participate in the next year's contest, please call 877-4COMMUTE.