The Swanton Chamber of Commerce held an awards dinner at Valleywood Gold Club on Friday, December 9, to honor Blue Ribbon winners from the third annual Swanton Fine Art Exhibit the Chamber put on in October. Among the many attendees was Swanton Mayor Ann Roth who praised the Chamber and its Executive Director Neil Toeppe for their efforts in creating the event. “It has been a great opportunity for Swanton to show our diversity,” commented Mayor Roth. “And to bring culture and enjoyment to Swanton that we have not experienced in the past.”
Winners in both the Youth and Adult categories were selected, by a trio of judges, from a pool of over 200 entries submitted by 85 artists from three states and 20 communities. Of the 13 Blue Ribbons awarded, four Youth and nine Adult, four were won by residents of Fulton County. Jasmine Tanner, a sophomore at Delta High School, took first place in the Computer Generated Art category and also won Youth Best of Show, receiving the $1000 Nexus Scholarship for her effort.
In the Manipulated Art category, Sue Schaller of Swanton won the Blue Ribbon and Nora Sallows of Wauseon won the top prize in Pastels. Rounding out the Fulton County winners was Bill O’Connell of Swanton whose entry was chosen as best in Photography.
All winners were presented with a proclamation recognizing their achievements signed by Ohio Governor John Kasich and Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor. Representing Governor Kasich to hand out the proclamations was his Northwest Regional Liaison, LuAnne Cooke.
Overall, $7200 in prize money was awarded and two other Youth Scholarships, $750 from Soaring Software Solutions and $500 from the Swanton Chamber of Commerce were presented.
Bill O’Connell may be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com