$3500 in prizes given to each winning elementary school student!
Durham, NC (May 7, 2001) Neo Best, a kindergarten student at Pathways Elementary School in Hillsborough, and Horacio A. Rios, a fifth grader at Central Elementary School, also in Hillsborough, submitted the winning essays in a Mother’s Day contest sponsored by National Pawn. With the two students tied for first place, Bob Moulton, owner of National Pawn, declared that he would award two first place prizes. The topic of the essay was, “My Mother.” Prizes included a pair of diamond earrings valued at $2,000 for Neo and Horacio’s mothers, a $500 check for classroom supplies to Neo’s teacher, Mrs. Jennifer Behringer, and Horacio’s teacher, Mr. Brian Krauss, and a $1,000 check for school supplies to each winner’s school. Neo, Horacio and their families will be presented the prizes at a ceremony the day before Mother’s Day. Bob Moulton will preside over the ceremony to be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, May 7, in the National Pawn store at 2334 Guess Rd., Durham.
“I believe in actively encouraging education and supporting schools as a rule, and I feel that it is especially important during these times of declining tax revenues and shrinking budgets,” said Moulton. “It was my intent to motivate the students to creatively express their feelings for their mothers or other strong female role models, as well as reward the teachers and the individual schools where the winners attend.”
The contest was open to all K-5 students in the three major Triangle school districts: Durham, Orange and Wake. The judges for the contest were Frances Scott, news anchor at ABC11; Rick Armstrong, Health and Science Producer at WRAL News; Barbara Petty, editor of BOOM! and Greg Petty, publisher of BOOM!, along with local writers Alice Osborn, Jan B. Parker and Kathleen Fitzgerald.
