This year more than 600 students took time to make cards for soldiers serving overseas as part of the Intelligencer Journal’s 50th annual Holiday Greeting Card Contest.

The theme for the contest was “Honoring Our Troops,” and the cards will be sent to soldiers serving in the Middle East. It also was the first time all high school students were able to participate in the contest.

Donaldo Morales, a sophomore at Garden Spot High School, won the first-place award in the grades 9-12 category.

Donaldo, who lives in New Holland, said he wanted to do something unique, so he decided to paint a picture instead of crafting a traditional card.

The painting depicts a soldier standing in front of silhouettes of other soldiers. In the background is a bald eagle with one of its wings wrapped around the soldier.

The eagle’s body is the American flag, and the stripes of the flag make up the other wing. A cloud hovering in the air is in the shape of the United States.

Donaldo, 16, said he became interested in art in the last few years and wants to go to college to learn how to design cars or buildings. He designs his own shirts and makes wire necklaces, including one in the shape of a Converse shoe.

“I was trying to use my imagination and show people how soldiers really want to represent our country,” Morales said.

Darren Burkholder, an eighth-grader at Lititz Area Mennonite School, won first in the grades 6-8 category. He lives in Ephrata.

Darren, 13, said his family gave him several ideas for a card, and he decided to create a card with Santa sitting on a chair in front of a fireplace and Christmas tree.

Santa is soaking his feet in a tub of water and drinking hot chocolate while Rudolph looks through the window. He said he created the card in two hours.

Darren said he enjoys art class in school, and he comes from a family of artists. His mother won the card contest when she was Darren’s age. His brother, Ryan, and sister, Abby, also placed in the contest this year.

Art is “fun to do on my own,” he said. Alex Ringlein, a fifth-grade student at Sacred Heart Catholic School, finished first in the grades 3-5 category. He lives in Lancaster.

Alex, 11, created a card with an advent calendar. It includes pictures of a gingerbread man, a train and presents. The front of the card features a Christmas tree with Santa in his sleigh and a tank under the tree.

The card reads “Thank you for protecting and fighting for the USA,” on the inside.

Alex said each Christmas his family makes and advent calendar to use the next year. He has made many Christmas cards over the years, usually for family members.

Alex said he was excited when he found out his card finished in first place.

“I thought it was really cool that my card would be in the newspaper,” Ringlein said.

Joseph Lapp, a first-grader at Locust Grove Elementary School, won first place in the grades 1-2 category. He lives in Lancaster.

Joseph, 6, said he suddenly came up with the idea to make a card with a Christmas tree and presents. On the inside he wrote musical notes above the words for “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

This was the first Christmas card Joseph ever made, and it took him two days to put together.

“I feel great inside,” he said.

This year’s contest also featured a new category for high school students using computers to create cards.

Patrick Hatt, a senior at Ephrata High School, won first place in the new category. Patrick, 18, said he took graphic design classes in school and decided to try and make a card with his computer knowledge.

He spent two days working on his creation. Patrick said he knew the card was being sent to soldiers in the Middle East, so he decided to use the theme of a camel.

The card has a camel wearing lipstick, asking “Where is the mistletoe?”

“I wanted to make it a humorous card,” he said.

Of the 658 submissions this year, the winners in each category are as follows:
Grades 9-12: Donaldo Morales of New Holland, first; Hilari Bowman of Lancaster, second; and Valerie Nolt of Manheim, third.

Grades 6-8: Darren Burkholder of Ephrata, first; Caleb Haddon of Lancaster, second; and Marlene Sharp of Lancaster, third.

Grades 3-5: Alex Ringlein of Lancaster, first; Ryan Burkholder of Ephrata, second; and Sophia Mast of Lancaster, third.

Grades 1-2: Joseph Lapp of Lancaster, first; Abby Burkholder of Ephrata, second; and Eleanor Bila of Lancaster, third.

Grades 9-12 Computer Art: Patrick Hatt of Ephrata, first; Jason Morris of Ephrata, second; and Hannah McKonly of Lancaster, third.


Michael Yoder’s e-mail address is myoder@lnpnews.com. blog comments powered by Disqus