Commissioner George P. Bush announces winners of the 2018 Adopt-A-Beach Treasures of the Texas Coast Children's Art Contest

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is proud to announce the winners of the 2018 Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Treasures of the Texas Coast Children's Art Contest. The grand prize winner, selected from the 40 overall winners, was Finley White, a 5th grader at Jacob's Well Elementary in Wimberley. Finley's teacher, Jennifer Lewis, will also receive a prize package as well. Download hi-res images of all the winning artwork at https://goo.gl/qfLPAb.

"Thousands of children across the state participated in the 22nd anniversary Treasures of the Texas Coast Children's Art Contest," Bush said. "This contest is a great way for young Texans to show their artistic skill and vision while learning about the natural beauty of our precious coast. Each year selecting the winners is a tough process because of the volume of creative submissions, but Finley's artwork stood out for her unique expression of a Whooping Crane in a marsh on the Texas coast."

Grand Prize Winner

Finley's artwork, along with 39 runners-up, will appear on the cover of the 2019 Adopt-A-Beach calendar, which will be distributed statewide. The artwork of all winners will be on public display in the South-Central Gallery of the Texas Capitol May 22nd - 29th for all visitors to view and appreciate. The exhibit will be sponsored by Texas State Representative Abel Herrero (District 34, Corpus Christi).

This year's grand prize winner will receive two round-trip coach-class tickets from United Airlines or United Express to any destination in the 48 contiguous United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America, one 7-night Caribbean cruise from Royal Caribbean International departing out of Galveston, Miami, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Port Canaveral or Puerto Rico, and a class party at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels.

The grand prize winner's teacher will also receive two round-trip coach-class tickets from United Airlines, and one 7-night Caribbean cruise courtesy of Royal Caribbean International. All 40 winners will receive a ticket to the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, a ticket to the Houston Zoo, two all day passes to Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels, prizes and a certificate of recognition from the Texas General Land Office and a calendar displaying the winning artwork.

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush selected Finley's masterpiece from 2,480 entries submitted statewide. The annual competition encourages schoolchildren to learn more about the Texas coast and express what they have learned through their art. Open to grades K-6 across Texas, the contest motivates thousands of young artists each year.  

Winner Name

School Name

City

K, 1st and 2nd Grades

Khloe Chi

Settlers Way Elementary

Sugar Land

Ela Erkenekli

Settlers Way Elementary

Sugar Land

Evan Feng

Hanjie Arts Center

Katy

Isabel He

Roosevelt Alexander Elementary

Katy

Haebin Kim

Elsa England Elementary

Austin

Donovan Marg

Randall H. Fields Elementary

San Antonio

Aliyah Martinez

Driscoll ISD

Driscoll

Sommer Spencer

Beyond Limits Elementary

Sinton

Teja Tahkku

Keiko Davidson Elementary

Katy

Lucy Tao

Tom Wilson Elementary

Katy

3rd - 4th Grades

Jamie Bong

Blackland Prairie Elementary

Round Rock

Maddie Bryl

Plum Creek Elementary

Joshua

Eva Li

Roosevelt Alexander Elementary

Katy

Molly Madsen

Tyler Art School

Tyler

Marijose Rosas

Visual Arts Academy

Brownsville

Ella Saenz

St. Laurence Catholic School

Sugar Land

Aamir Tinwala

Falak Art Studio

Coppell

Bella Vass

Plum Creek Elementary

Joshua

Richard Wang

Private Art Studio

Cedar Park

Merissa Zhang

Hanjie Arts Center

Katy

5th Grade

Clara Campbell

Plum Creek Elementary

Joshua

Bao Danh

Park Place Elementary

Houston

Elaina Dominy-Gillis

Santa Fe Kubacak Elementary

Santa Fe

Jenna Lozoya

Driscoll ISD

Driscoll

Victoria Ortega

Park Place Elementary

Houston

Jose Rosas

Visual Arts Academy

Brownsville

Jasmine Smith

Stewart Elementary

Kemah

Joi Speck

Fulton 4-5 Learning Center

Fulton

Jessica Wang

Hanjie Arts Center

Katy

*Finley White
(Grand Prize Winner)

Jacob's Well Elementary

Wimberley

6th Grade

Ashley Barragan

Senator Eddie A. Lucio, Jr. Elementary

Brownsville

Amelie Breton

Pearson Ranch Middle School

Austin

Gracie Ellis

Woodgate Intermediate

Woodway

Juliana Franco

Beckendorff Junior High

Katy

Mia Mabray

Our Lady of Victory Catholic School

Victoria

Gabby Rivers

Marshall Middle School

Beaumont

Kevin Shi

Woodcreek Junior High

Katy

Madelyn Smith

St. Mary's Catholic School

Orange

Isabella Tran

St. Mary's Catholic School

Orange

Meaghan Williams

Private Instruction

Corpus Christi

To learn more about the Adopt-A-Beach program, visit TexasAdoptABeach.org or contact the GLO at 1-877-TX COAST. Like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/texasadoptabeach and follow us on Twitter at @TXadoptabeach.

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