Demetrius Whitsett's father, Jermaine, served in Iraq for a year in 2004.

And Jermaine Whitsett's U.S. Army unit is back in the Middle East right now, but, due to an injury, he had to stay home.

So Demetrius, 11, a fifth-grader at Adamstown Elementary School, already knew what it was like to communicate with a relative serving in the military overseas when he designed his entry for the 2009 Intelligencer Journal/New Era Holiday Greeting Card Contest.

The card Demetrius created was one of four first-place winners in the 53rd annual contest.

The contest drew entries from more than 1,600 students in schools across Lancaster County.

Each student created a festive holiday card directed toward men and women serving in the armed forces.

Winners in the three categories for students in grades one through eight were selected by Millersville University art education students under the guidance of assistant professor Victoria Weaver.

Lancaster Newspapers' art services department judged the computer-generated cards submitted by high school students.

Three local soldiers — one serving in Afghanistan and two in Iraq — volunteered to give cards to their battalion chaplains for distribution to soldiers in the field.

Demetrius' card, which won the $50 first prize for students in grades three through five, depicts three reindeer/camel cross-breeds towing a sleigh driven by a camouflage-clad Santa Claus through a desert scene.

"Since they're over in Iraq — there's camels over there," said Demetrius, who lives in Reinholds. "So I mixed the camels and the reindeer together."

At the top of the card, there are two camouflage, Christmas-tree ball ornaments, one of which has "support" written on it, while the other says "troops."

A red banner proclaiming "Happy Holidays" hangs between the balls.

Sacred Heart School sixth-grader Grace Ringlein, 11, of Lancaster, created a winning card for the second time.

She won two years ago as a fourth-grader.

This year, her card captured the $50 first prize for students in grades six through eight.

Grace's card features three drawings colored with magic markers.

The scene on the cover depicts a gingerbread man standing outside his gingerbread house, which stands underneath the slogan "Merry Christmas."

Inside, a Christmas tree decorated with red, white and blue balls stands in front of a fireplace, bearing two American flags.

Over the fireplace is a banner that reads, "Thank you for serving our country."

The back of the card features a snowman and the words, "Have a happy new year."

"I kind of made things up as I went along," Grace said. "I worked on it over a few days, and I just added something new every day."

Sophia Mumma, 8, of Lancaster, admits it was her mother's idea to draw a snowman wearing a camouflage jacket and a Santa Claus hat on the cover of her card, which won the $50 first prize for students in grades one and two.

But the Centerville Elementary School student did the artwork.

Inside the card, next to a drawing of Santa Claus waving from his sleigh, Sophia included the message:

"Dear soldier, Happy holidays! Thank you for serving our country in all the troubles that we have had. I appreciate your work you do for us.

"You do your best and I think your best is good! You risk your life for us and our freedom and I really appreciate that. Thanks again!"

Alexandria Unangst, 15, of Columbia, is taking a computer applications class in ninth grade at Columbia High School.

Using what she's learned in that class, Alexandria scoured the Internet for images of snowflakes, which she used through her card, which won the $50 first prize for students in grades nine through 12.

The snowflakes are colored red, white and blue. Alexandria included in her card the phrase "Christmases are like snowflakes — each one beautiful and unique."

"I kind of wanted to theme it around winter, not just Christmas, because not everyone celebrates Christmas," she said.

The second- and third-place winners in this year's contest are:

Grades 1-2: Kathryn Hackenberg of Elizabethtown, second; Sydney Weichler of Strasburg, third.

Grades 3-5: Stephen Wenzel of Lancaster, second; John Austin Deslippe of Lancaster, third.

Grades 6-8: Aubrey Wenger of Mount Joy, second; Miranda Getz of Manheim, third.

Grades 9-12 (computer art): Katelyn Markley of Columbia, second; Ricky Ortiz of Lancaster, third.

preilly@lnpnews.com