Chamber introduces new holiday tradition

The Nevada/Vernon County Chamber of Commerce will host a new holiday tradition this season in lieu of the former Miss Merry Christmas pageant. “It always makes me sad when a tradition that we hold dear fades away because of the lack of enough participation,” stated Chamber Executive Director Shéree Gayman in a press release.

“However, I don’t believe in canceling one tradition without trying to start a new one,” continued Gayman. “We have decided to start a new, ‘inclusive of all,’ tradition for students in grades 1 through 12 (boy or girl) in Vernon County.”

The Nevada/Vernon County Chamber of Commerce will be holding their first Holiday Art and Writing Contest in partnership with Nevada Daily Mail.

“We encourage parents and teachers to motivate our youth in their writing and art skills,” added Gayman.

Winners will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 20. There will be a cash price to the first place winners in both the Art and Writing portions of the contest and the winners will be placed in the Nevada Daily Mail.

Contest rules are as follows:

1.) In order to publish submissions and contact winners, students must include their parents’/guardians’ name(s), address, phone number and e-mail address on the back of their work in addition to their name, grade, age, and school.

2.) Stories and drawings must be original ideas, no copied or traced. A story should be no longer than 300 words. There is no minimum length. All grade school entries should be legibly writeen, all others should be typed, double-spaced.

3.) The contest is open to school-age children attending schools in Vernon County.

4.) Judging is in five categories: Grades 1-2; Grades 3-4; Grades 5-6; Grades 7-8; and Grades 9-12. Artwork and writing will be judged separately. All decisions of the judging panel are final.

5.) For artwork, original work is preferred. Artwork submitted electronically will be disqualified if computer manipulated or generated. No photography is allowed. Submitted artwork must be no larger than 8.5 inches by 11 inches. If artwork is submitted by e-mail, it must be scanned at a resolution of 300 dpi or higher and attached as a JPEG.

6.) Entries must be submitted by mail, e-mail, or dropping off to: Nevada/Vernon County Chamber of Commerce, 225 W. Austin Blvd., Suite 200, Nevada, MO. 64772, or e-mailing to chamber1@nevada-mo.com. Deadline for drop off is 3 p.m., Friday, Dec. 14. Mailed entries must be postmarked by Dec. 11. No late entries will be accepted.

7.) Students can enter once in writing and once in artwork.

8.) Entries will not be returned.

9.) Member of the immediate family of the Nevada/Vernon County Chamber employees and Board of Directors are ineligible for participation in the contest. The contest is only open to students from Vernon County.