FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Contact: Kristen Schulze Muszynski
207-626-8400

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap Announces Winners of 2015 Maine Constitution Essay and Poster Contest

Winning artwork and essays available to view online

AUGUSTA ? Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap has announced the names of the winners of the 2015 Maine Constitution Essay and Poster Contest.

The annual contest allows Maine students from grades K through 12 to participate, with older students submitting essays regarding the Maine Constitution, voting and democracy; and younger students creating posters reflecting Maine history or symbols. 

?The essay and poster contest is a great opportunity for students to reflect on the wide spectrum of Maine?s identity, from the rich traditions of our native tribes to the whimsy of whoopie pies as our state treat,? said Dunlap. ?We congratulate the winners and hope that all of the students gained a deeper appreciation for their state through their participation.?

The essay contest is for students in grades 6 through 12 and is divided into two categories. The theme for grades 6 through 8 is ?The Maine Constitution.?  Carolyn Frank, an eighth-grade, home-schooled student from Farmington, received top honors in this category for her essay titled ?The Division of Power.? Placing first in the grades 9 through 12 category, based on ?The Importance of Voting and Democracy,? is Dominick Frank, for his essay titled, ?The Rise of Democracy.? Dominick is a tenth-grade, home-schooled student from Farmington.
 
The poster contest, open to students from kindergarten to grade 5, is broken into two categories and the selected entries both come from The Boxberry School in Oxford.  For grades K-3 ?Maine State Symbols? are the focus. Third-grader Mina Kazimierczak took top honors. Students in grades 4 and 5 have ?Maine History? as a topic.  Fifth-grade student Nathan Cooper placed first for his poster depicting the Penobscot tribe.

Winning students and their classes are invited to view the state's original 1820 Constitution at the Maine State Archives in Augusta ? a special honor, as it is not regularly removed from the storage vault for viewings.

Judges for this year?s contest were Sen. Anne M. Haskell (D-Cumberland) of Portland, Rep. Beth P. Turner (R-Burlington) of Burlington, and Betsy Spekke, archivist at the Maine State Archives.

To learn more about the program and view winning entries from this year?s contest, visit the Secretary of State?s website:  http://www.maine.gov/sos/kids/student-programs/const_essay.htm.