Student Wins National Student Art Contest

Ella Stahmann "I love my country because..." artwork

Ella Stahmann, a seventh grade student at JR Gerritts middle school, was recently recognized by Outagamie County for her winning submission to the National Association of Counties (NACo) nationwide art contest. The contest was part of the national 2021 “Counties Matter” campaign, designed to introduce young residents to the responsibilities of local government. The theme of this inaugural contest was “I Love My County Because….” Student artists were asked to complete the sentence of why they “love” their county, and to accompany that Mr. Lamers (left), Ella Stahmann (middle) and Mr. Calmes (right) sentence with a piece of original artwork describing the reason selected. Stahmann, who was in sixth grade at the time, submitted the piece of artwork shown above. “I love my County because half of Outagamie County is farm/country area and the other half is cities/neighborhoods. I prefer farms but I like both,” Stahmann explained. “Chickens can be kept in both of these areas and more neighborhoods are allowing chickens. Chickens can be found in farms and city neighborhoods and this is why I chose a chicken to represent Outagamie County in my art.” Congratulations Ella!